BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Director Bill Condon Talks New Songs & More Details!

What a morning for BEAUTY AND THE BEAST fans! First up, the official trailer for the highly-anticipated live action film was revealed on GOOD MORNING AMERICA (click here to watch!) and just moments later, Disney revealed all-new images from the film (click here!) hitting theaters on March 17th, 2017.

In an exclusive interview with ET this morning, director Bill Condon (DREAMGIRLS, THE TWILIGHT SAGA) discusses the project, including new songs from Alan Menken which will be featured in the film. "Alan Menken has been away from this for over 20 years now and he just picked up his pen and started playing piano and it's all right there," he explains. "It's just so thrilling to hear him write something that fits into the fabric of what we know so well. There are three of them. But maybe I'd say, the excitement of waiting the whole movie and then the Beast finally telling us how he feels in song ["For Evermore"], that's pretty thrilling."

Asked if he felt pressure to get things right for the millions of fans of the animated Disney film, Condon shares, "I didn't feel that much pressure, only because we didn't drop anything. That score is iconic and great, but also perfect! So, they're all there. But we do have new story elements that kind of expand on what's there. A bit of story about how the Beast and Belle wound up being who they are when we meet them. So, that really informs all of the new songs. It's new songs for a new aspect of the movie."

Condon also recalls the first time he saw star Emma Watson dressed in Belle's iconic ball gown, sharing , "Oh, man! I mean, it was exciting to see and then we went through many, many, many versions of it. So it wasn't like, 'Oh there it is! And it's done and she's putting it on!' But it was still thrilling just to see her. That and seeing her in the blue in the village, it just felt like, Oh my god. It was thrilling, I think, is the only word."

Read the article in full HERE for more details!

Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" is a live-action re-telling of the studio's animated classic which refashions the classic characters from the tale as old as time for a contemporary audience, staying true to the original music while updating the score with several new songs. "Beauty and the Beast" is the fantastic journey of Belle, a bright, beautiful and independent young woman who is taken prisoner by a beast in his castle. Despite her fears, she befriends the castle's enchanted staff and learns to look beyond the Beast's hideous exterior and realize the kind heart and soul of the true Prince within. The film stars: Emma Watson as Belle; Dan Stevens as the Beast; Luke Evans as Gaston, the handsome, but shallow villager who woos Belle; Oscar® winner Kevin Kline as Maurice, BELLE'S eccentric, but lovable father; Josh Gad as Lefou, Gaston's long-suffering aide-de-camp; Golden Globe® nominee Ewan McGregor as Lumiere, the candelabra; Oscar nominee Stanley Tucci as Maestro Cadenza, the harpsichord; Oscar nominee Ian McKellen as Cogsworth, the mantel clock; and two-time Academy Award® winner Emma Thompson as the teapot, Mrs. Potts.

Directed by Oscar® winner Bill Condon based on the 1991 animated film, "Beauty and the Beast" is produced by Mandeville Films' David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman, with eight-time Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken, who won two Academy Awards® (Best Original Score and Best Song) for the 1991 animated film, providing the score, which will include new recordings of the original songs written by Menken and Howard Ashman, as well as several new songs written by Menken and three-time Oscar winner Tim Rice.

Image courtesy of Walt Disney Studios