Variety is reporting that Emma Watson is in final negotiations to star in Beauty, Guillermo del Toro’s vision of the classic tale of ‘The Beauty and the Beast’ for Warner Bros. Rumours of Emma’s involvement began last July when producer Denise Di Novi, who is working on the project with del Toro, said Emma was lined up to star. In August, del Toro confirmed that he would like to direct Emma in Beauty, saying “I think she is the perfect character to do that movie.” del Toro now plans to direct as well as produce the film. Emma has said a few times over the years she would like to work with del Toro.
Beauty is said to be loosely based on the novel Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of the Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley. Warner Bros. has hired Andrew Davies (“Brideshead Revisited”, “The Three Musketeers”, “Bridget Jones’ Diary”) to write the screenplay.
Update: According to Robin McKinley, she knows nothing about all this, other than Warner’s did option her novel in the past. She thinks it unlikely the movie will be made, and if it is, that it will have nothing in common with her novel beyond the Beauty/Beast premise. Perhaps it will be a loose adaption of just the title. Thanks to Jay for bringing this up.
