AceShowbiz -

Ian McKellen has joined Emma Watson to star in Disney's live-action "Beauty and the Beast (2017)". According to Variety, the British actor is tapped to star as the Beast's loyal butler Cogsworth, who is transformed into a clock by a curse.

Dan Stevens has been previously cast as the Prince, Watson will star as Belle, Luke Evans will star as Gaston, Josh Gad will portray Gaston's sidekick LeFou, and Emma Thompson will portray Mrs. Potts. Additionally, Kevin Kline joins the cast as Belle's father. The movie will be directed by Bill Condon from a script written by Stephen Chbosky, and will be produced by David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman of Mandeville Films. It is set for release on March 17, 2017 in the United States.

Alan Menken, who has won eight Oscars, will score the film. It will feature new recordings of the original songs and some new songs written by Menken and Sir Tim Rice.

Disney's animated musical version of "Beauty and the Beast (1991)" was a box office hit and grossed over $424 million worldwide after it was re-released in 2012. This film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy and won two Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Music.