Luke Evans Cast as Gaston in 'Beauty and the Beast'
The beauty has been found, the beast is still a question mark, but the villain has a name.
Variety reports that "Dracula Untold" star Luke Evans is close to signing a deal to play the dastardly Gaston in the live-action remake of "Beauty and the Beast." He would star opposite Emma Watson as Belle. There are also rumors that Emma Thompson is in talks to play Mrs. Potts.
Gaston is the main villain of the movie; he's a spurned suitor of Belle's who rounds up the townspeople to take down the Beast. It's still unclear what form the Beast will take - whether the character will be rendered in CGI, use motion-capture technology (like in the "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" films), or rely on prosthetics.
Disney has been hard at work making live-action versions of their popular animated tales. "Cinderella" just hit theaters, while "The Jungle Book" is in the works.