Martin Short & Shania Twain in Final Talks to Join ABC's BEAUTY & THE BEAST Special

Martin Short and Shania Twain are in final talks to join in ABC's upcoming animated and live-action blended special, "Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration."

Variety reports that Short would play Lumière and Twain would play Mrs. Potts. They would join the previously announced H.E.R. in the role of Belle, David Alan Grier as Cogsworth, Joshua Henry as Gaston, Josh Groban as the Beast, and Rita Moreno as the Narrator.

The special is set to air on Thursday, December 15 (8:00-10:00 p.m. EST), on ABC and on Disney+ the next day.

Wicked and In the Heights film director Jon M. Chu is set to executive produce the special and Hamish Hamilton is set to direct. Additional talented cast, whose performances will be seamlessly woven through the original feature film, will continue to be announced leading up to the production.

This year, 2022, marks the 30th anniversary of when Disney Animation's "Beauty and the Beast" became the first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. The film went on to win the Golden Globe® Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, while the theme song "Beauty and the Beast" won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1992.

"Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration" is produced by Done+Dusted in association with Walt Disney Television Alternative and Electric Somewhere. Executive producers are Jon M. Chu, Caitlin Foito, Hamish Hamilton, Raj Kapoor, Richard Kraft and Katy Mullan. Hamish Hamilton will serve as director. H.E.R. serves as a producer.

Martin Short can currently be seen alongside Steve Martin and Selena Gomez in Hulu's Only Murders in the Building. He was last seen in a musical playing Wilbur Turnblad in Hairspray Live.

Martin appeared on Broadway in Little Me (Tony Award, OCC Award), The Goodbye Girl (Tony Award nomination, Theatre World Award, OCC Award, Jeffrey Jefferson Award) and in Promises, Promises (Encores!). In 2006, he returned to Broadway starring in his own one man show (even though it had a cast of four that rarely mentioned) Fame Becomes Me.

In L.A., he appeared in Lawrence Kasdan's production of Four Dogs and A Bone and The Producers. In 1982, he joined the SCTV Comedy Network, where his work garnered an Emmy Award and five Emmy nominations.

Shania Twain is a five-time GRAMMY winner and one of music's most renowned trailblazers. With five albums released and more than 100 million albums sold worldwide, Twain remains the top-selling female country pop artist of all time.

Her albums The Woman In Me, Come on Over, and Up! have garnered over 30 Platinum certifications. Shania has three Diamond-certified albums. From 1993 to 2021, Shania held the title of being the female artist with the most weeks at the top of the charts, with her albums spending a collective 97 weeks at #1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums.

Recognizing her indelible impact and achievements in music, Shania is the first and only female artist to receive CMT's Artist of a Lifetime Award. She was also honored with the Icon Award at Billboard's Women in Music ceremony. Twain is currently performing at her second residency in Vegas called "Let's Go!".

The two-year residency at the Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino kicked off with a sold-out run and continues to be the hot ticket in Vegas. Twain's first album in 15 years, NOW, was released in September 2017 and debuted at No. 1 in all major territories. Shania's hits include "Any Man of Mine," "That Don't Impress Me Much," "You're Still the One," and "Man! I Feel Like A Woman."

This year, Shania made a surprise guest performance during Harry Styles' Coachella set on Friday, April 15. The duo performed two of her biggest hits: "Man! I Feel Like a Woman" and "You're Still the One." She continues to be a cultural icon garnering praise from artists such as Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Kacey Musgraves, Haim, and Avril Lavigne among others.