Disney’s 2017 Beauty and the Beast live-action remake is one of the most critical and commercial hits by the House of the Mouse. 

The Emma Watson film holds the record of being the second-highest-grossing Disney live-action remake. 

However, the initial casting of the film was much different with Ryan Gosling in the role of Beast.

The 2017 Bill Condon directorial had Emma Watson and Dan Stevens leading the film. Stevens played the Beast through motion capture opposite Watson’s Belle. 

While the current scenario of Disney live-action remakes is not going well, 

Beauty and the Beast was praised for being faithful to the source material and offering a fresh retelling at the same time.

Why did Ryan Gosling pass on Beauty and the Beast?

It was reported in 2015, that Ryan Gosling may play the prince turned beast in Disney’s live-action retelling of Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont’s 1756 fairy tale. According to Teen Vogue, a popular fact page, Mental Floss revealed that Ryan Gosling was in the race to lead the live-action Beauty and the Beast before leaving it for another project.

Mental Floss shared that Ryan Gosling rejected Beauty and the Beast to play jazz musician Sebastian in La La Land. It looks like the Barbie fame sensed the potential in the Damien Chazelle musical feature which was one of the most critically praised projects of 2016. According to The Numbers, the Disney remake grossed $1.2 Billion at the box office.

Even though La La Land did not cross the billion-dollar mark, it was a hit at the box office and got a record 14 nominations at the Oscars along with 2 wins. Gosling also went on to win a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. Surprisingly, Emma Watson was involved in an exact opposite situation as she rejected La La Land for Beauty and the Beast.

Why did Emma Watson opt for Beauty and the Beast over La La Land?

It is startling how both Emma Watson and Ryan Gosling passed on movies starring each other. The initially planned casting of La La Land was even more different compared to Beauty and the Beast. According to Vanity Fair, the Damien Chazelle directorial almost had Emma Watson and the Top Gun: Maverick actor Miles Teller in the lead.

The Harry Potter actress also opened up about her reason for giving up La La Land. Speaking on SiriusXM’s Town Hall, Watson cited scheduling conflicts for leaving the musical and choosing the Disney feature.

“It’s one of these frustrating things where names get attached to projects very early on as a way to kind of build anticipation or excitement for something that’s coming before anything is really actually agreed or set in stone. [Beauty and the Beast] wasn’t a movie I could just sort of step into.”

It cannot be denied that Emma Watson did not want to leave the golden opportunity to become a Disney princess. She added that she also had a massive preparation process for the Beauty and the Beast which did not permit her to play the struggling actress Mia.

“I knew I had horse training, I knew I had dancing, I knew I had three months of singing ahead of me and I knew I had to be in London to really do that. This wasn’t a movie I could just kind of parachute into. I knew I had to do the work, and I had to be where I had to be. So, you know, scheduling conflict-wise, it just didn’t work out.”

Both Beauty and the Beast and La La Land would have been very different had the initial castings worked out. However, it is also to be agreed they are beautiful in their own way and the stars delivered iconic performances in both projects. Emma Stone even won the Oscar for Best Actress for her role as Mia.

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Source: New York Post