Luke Evans to Play Gaston in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast

Nobody’s as slick as Gaston, but it appears that Luke Evans is about to try and be!

Yes, as reported in Variety the star of Dracula Untold and The Hobbit Trilogy will be playing the devilishly vain antagonist of Disney’s upcoming live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast.

Evans has entered the final round of negotiations to join the hotly anticipated film that is now set to star Emma Watson (Harry Potter) as Belle and Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey) as the Beast.

Beauty and the Beast is the latest in Disney’s new line of live-action remakes of animated classics, which includes Alice in Wonderland, Mirror, Mirror, Maleficent, and Cinderella. However, unlike those other reimaginings, Beauty and the Beast appears to be a full fledged remake, as Emma Watson has mentioned on social media that she must prepare for singing lessons after being cast as Belle.

Bill Condon (Dreamgirls, Twilight: Breaking Dawn) is taking on directing duties on the feature from a screenplay by Evan Spiliotopoulos and Steve Chbosky.

Beauty and the Beast was the 1991 animated classic that many consider the crown jewel of the Disney Renaissance era (roughly 1989 to 1999). It remains the only animated film to be nominated for Best Picture when there were only five available spots at the Oscars, and it also won the Golden Globe for Best Musical or Comedy. Also, for the record, Gaston was one of the six Disney villains we thought might deserve a movie after Maleficent.

To prepare for the role of Gaston, we suggest that Evans practices his expectorating.