( CNN ) '' Beauty '' has found its Beast . The new live-action `` Beauty and the Beast , '' which cast Emma Watson as Belle , will also star `` Downton Abbey 's '' Dan Stevens as the Beast . Watson herself welcomed her co-star on board after the news was reported in the Hollywood Reporter . The animated Disney character was voiced by Robby Benson in the 1991 film . The film , to be directed by Bill Condon ( `` Gods and Monsters , '' the final two `` Twilight '' films ) , also named its Gaston , the conniving lout who pursues Belle , though she resists his advances . He 'll be played by Luke Evans , a musical theater veteran who starred as Bard the Bowman in Peter Jackson 's `` Hobbit '' films . After Watson tweeted her congratulations , Evans immediately responded with a side-by-side set of photos of him and the animated character . The resemblance was striking . Now , if only Disney will cast Lumiere , Mrs. Potts , Cogsworth and the rest , we 'll have a real movie on our hands . No release date for `` Beauty and the Beast '' has been announced , and filming has yet to begin .
Dan Stevens of CNN is to play the Beast . Luke Evans is cast as Gaston in the live-action film . Emma Watson is playing Belle .