After she's been riding in a serious wave of success since her viral United Nations speech for the "He For She" feminist campaign, now Emma Watson's Disney princess status has been made official: the "Harry Potter" actress will be starring in the upcoming live action version of the 1991 classic.
In the last few years, there's been a series of live action adaptations to Disney princess classics, such as "Snow White and the Huntsman" and the 2015 release of "Cinderella" starring Lily James and Richard Madden; now, following months of rumors, Emma Watson's Disney status has been officially announced.
About a year ago, Screen Rant reported that the Emma Watson Disney appearance had been rumored for a while, when the "Pan's Labyrinth" director, Guillermo Del Toro, was first attached to the project. Ever since, he has gone off to make other films, and the movie had been halted for a while, though the official announcement has just come.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Emma Watson's Disney-starring role became official after the actress finally spoke out about it in her Facebook page, and it seems she's known the news for quite a while.
"I'm finally able to tell you ... that I will be playing Belle in Disney's new live-action Beauty and the Beast!" said the actress and feminism speaker. "It was such a big part of my growing up, it almost feels surreal that I'll get to dance to 'Be Our Guest' and sing 'Something There.' My six year old [sic] self is on the ceiling - heart bursting. Time to start some singing lessons. I can't wait for you to see it."
This makes it clear that the new film will be following the musical standards of the 90s movie, with the sing-along tunes that audiences fell in love with back then, including the Oscar-winning song "Beauty and the Beast," which made Céline Dion famous.
As The Huffington Post reports, the new Emma Watson Disney gig happened under Del Toro's blessing, after the "Perks of Being a Wallflower" actress had been previously rumored to be a part of another project of the classic fairy tale.
