Tale As Old As Time- BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Movie Company Takes Shape; Meet the Cast!

The cast is really coming together for Disney's upcoming remake of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. Set for a release on March 17, 2017, the beloved tale will be retold for the big screen with a modern live-action lens and the help of transformative CG magic. As BroadwayWorld reported last week, six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald is in final negotiations to play the role of 'Garderobe,' the wardrobe. She joins previously announced Emma Watson and Dan Stevens, who will star as Belle and the Beast/Prince respectively, and Luke Evans as Gaston. Emma Thompson will play Mrs. Potts, Kevin Kline will play Belle's father, Maurice, and Josh Gad will take on the role of Le Fou.

There is still some casting that is yet to be announced, but much of the cast has now signed on to take part in the much-anticipated film. Below, get to know the company and the roles that they will be playing!

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Emma Watson (Belle)- Watson is best known for her role of 'Hermione Granger' in the HARRY POTTER film series; she was cast as Hermione at the age of nine, having previously acted only in school plays. She starred in all eight Harry Potter films, alongside Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint. Watson's work on the Harry Potter series has earned her several awards. In 2007, Watson announced her involvement in THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX and the television adaptation of the novel BALLET SHOES, which was broadcast on 26 December 2007. In 2012, she starred in Stephen Chbosky's film adaptation of THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER. The following year, she appeared in Sofia Coppola's THE BLING RING. Watson played Ila in Darren Aronofsky's biblical epic NOAH last year.

Dan Stevens (Beast)- Stevens, who made his Broadway debut in THE HEIRESS in 2012 opposite Jessica Chastain, last starred on the big screen in THE GUEST, THE FIFTH ESTATE , A NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB and A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES. In 2010, Stevens got his big break when he was cast as Matthew Crawley in the ITV series Downton Abbey, created and written by Oscar-winning screenwriter Julian Fellowes. The series went on to be a global sensation, and has been nominated for several Emmy, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards since its debut.

Luke Evans (Gaston)- Evans began his career on the stage, performing in many of London's West End productions such as Rent, Miss Saigon, and Piaf before getting his breakthrough role in Hollywood starring in the Clash of the Titans 2010 remake, playing Apollo. Following his debut, Evans was cast in such action and thriller films as Immortals (2011), The Raven (2012), and the re-imagined The Three Musketeers (2011), in which he played Aramis.In 2013, Evans starred as the main antagonist Owen Shaw in the blockbuster Furious 6, and also plays Bard the Bowman in Peter Jackson's three-part adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. Evans also portrayed the vampire Dracula in the character's film origin story, Dracula Untold.

Emma Thompson (Mrs. Potts)- Last year, Thompson played 'Mrs. Lovett' in the New York Philharmonic's concert production of SWEENEY TODD at Lincoln Centre's Avery Fisher Hall; she is reprising the role with the English National Opera this spring. The actress has also appeared in the West End and on Broadway in ME AND MY GIRL. Thompson won Academy Awards for her performances in the films HOWARDS END and SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, and was nominated for THE REMAINS OF THE DAY and IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER. Among her other notable film credits are the HARRY POTTER series, SAVING MR. BANKS, LOVE ACTUALLY, ANGELS IN AMERICA, NANNY McPHEE, STRANGER THAN FICTION, LAST CHANCE HARVEY, BRAVE and more.

Kevin Kline (Maurice)- Kline is an Academy Award and Tony Award-winning actor whose Broadway credits include: Three Sisters, Ivanov, Arms and the Man, On the Twentieth Century (Tony), and Loose Ends. His additional Off-Broadway credits include The Lower Depths, and The School for Scandal. His extensive film and television credits include Sophie's Choice, The Big Chill, Silverado, Cry Freedom, A Fish Called Wanda (Oscar), Soapdish, Grand Canyon, Dave, French Kiss, The Ice Storm, In and Out, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Life as a House, The Emperor's Club, De-Lovely, A Prairie Home Companion, No Strings Attached, Darling Companion and Hamlet on PBS.

Josh Gad (Le Fou)- Gad was most recently seen reprising his role as Olaf in Disney's new short, FROZEN FEVER, playing ahead of the studio's live-action Cinderella- currently in theatres. He currently co-stars in the new FX series The Comedians opposite Billy Crystal and will next be seen on the big screen opposite Adam Sandler and Peter Dinklage in Sony's Pixels. His recent film credits include Wedding Ringer and Wish I Was Here. The actor received a Tony nomination for his portrayal of Elder Cunningham in Broadway's BOOK OF MORMON, and has also appeared on Broadway in THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE.

Audra McDonald (Garderobe)- McDonald is unparalleled in the breadth and versatility of her artistry as both a singer and an actress. A record-breaking six-time Tony Award-winner (Carousel, Master Class, Ragtime, A Raisin in the Sun, The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill), she has also appeared on Broadway in The Secret Garden, Marie Christine (Tony nomination), Henry IV, and 110 in the Shade (Tony nomination). The Juilliard-trained soprano's opera credits include La voix humaine and Send at Houston Grand Opera and Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny at Los Angeles Opera.

Eight-time Oscar-winner Alan Menken, who won two Academy Awards for the 1991 animated classic, will score the film, which will feature new recordings of the original songs in addition to several new songs written by Menken and Sir Tim Rice. Bill Condon will direct from a script by Stephen Chbosky, and the film will be produced by Mandeville Films' David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman. Production begins in May at Shepperton Studios in London.

1991's Beauty and the Beast was an animated musical romantic fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Based on the traditional French fairy tale of the same name by Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont,Beauty and the Beast is the 30th film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. Additionally, it is third in the Disney Renaissance period. Starring Paige O'Hara and Robby Benson, Beauty and the Beast focuses on the relationship between the Beast (Benson), a prince who is magically transformed into a monster as punishment for his arrogance, and Belle (O'Hara), a young woman who he imprisons in his castle. The film also features the voices of Richard White, Jerry Orbach, David Ogden Stiers, and Angela Lansbury, who occupy supporting roles.

The film was a box office success, and has since garnered over $424 million worldwide. Beauty and the Beast was nominated for several awards, winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy. Beauty and the Beast became the first animated film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture; it also received five additional Academy Award nominations, including Best Original Score, Best Sound, and three separate nominations for Best Original Song. Ultimately, the film won Best Original Score, while Best Original Song was awarded to its title song. In 2002, Beauty and the Beast was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

In April 1994, Beauty and the Beast became Disney's first animated film to be adapted into a Broadway musical.