The successful opening of Maleficent must have given Disney confidence that their plan to make live-action movies based on classic fairy tales is a good idea. They already have Cinderella coming next year, Alice In Wonderland 2 will go into production this summer, The Jungle Book is in development and now it’s been revealed they’ve developing Beauty & The Beast, with Dreamgirls and Twilight: breaking Dawn helmer Bill Condon directing.
Variety broke the news, adding that Evan Spiliotopoulos (Ouija, Hercules) is writing the screenplay. There have been no specific story details released, so it’s not known if it will stick close to the House Of Mouse’s 1991 animated classic, or whether it will follow Maleficent’s trick of showing a different side of the story.
It’s not clear either if this version will bring any of the Oscar winning songs across to live action. However Condon has plenty of musical experience, such as directing Dreamgirls and writing the screenplay for Chicago, so it’s possible.
The animated version one of the few animated movies to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture, grossed over $375 million worldwide and spawned a massively successful stage version. It therefore has plenty of precedent for success.
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