"Beauty and the Beast" star Emma Watson recently opened up about playing the iconic role of Belle.
While speaking with Entertainment Weekly, the "Harry Potter" alum revealed that she's seen the animated version of the Disney classic one too many times. "I can't even think how many times I watched it was a child. I knew all the words by heart. I knew all the songs by heart," she said.
Meanwhile, a series of photos from the film were released online exclusively via the publication. In one of the photos, Watson could be seen wearing her beautiful yellow dress that she wore to the ball. Another photo featured the actress at Beast's (Dan Stevens) library. Prior to going to Beast's castle, Watson was also photographed with Kevin Kline, who plays the role of Belle's dad, Maurice.
Just like in the animated film, Belle and the Beast will also come across the villainos character, Gaston (Luke Evans). The lead character will also spend some time with Cogsworth (Ian McKellan), Mrs. Potts (Emma Thompson), Lumiere (Ewan McGregor) and Plumette (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) while she spends time at the castle.
In other news, fans are awaiting Watson's portrayal of Belle. According to her, the storyline for the movie will not be exactly like the cartoons. "In the animated movie, it's her father who is the inventor, and we actually co-opted that for Belle. I was like, 'Well, there was never very much information or detail at the beginning of the story as to why Belle didn't fit in, other than she liked books. Also what is she doing with her time?' So we created a back story for her, which was that she had invented a kind of washing machine, so that, instead of doing the laundry, she could sit and use that time to read instead. So, yeah, we made Belle an inventor," she said via (Vanity Fair).
"Beauty and the Beast" is slated to hit theaters in the United States on March 17, 2017.