Guillermo Del Toro Directing Emma Watson In Beauty and the Beast

For a while now it’s been known Guillermo Del Toro has been interested in a new version of Beauty & The Beast, and Emma Watson was circling around to star, but there’s been no confirmation on whether Del Toro would just produce or direct, or if Watson had actually signed up.

Now Variety reports that Guillermo is officially in the director’s chair, with Watson now in final negotiations to star. Andrew Davies (Bridget Jones’s Diary, The Three Musketeers) has been tapped to write the screenplay, which is said to be a period piece, although no further story details were given. Guillermo del Toro will write a treatment for Beauty and the Beast, which Davies will work off of.

Quite when Del Toro will get around to the movie isn’t known. He tends to like to have a lot of things on the go at once, and then picks the one he feels is ready to make next. This project is not to be confused with the other Beauty and the Beast, which last week cast Vincent Cassel and Léa Seydoux, for director Christophe Gans.