Beauty and the Beast Lead Actor Confirmed

If there is one movie we’re super excited about, it’s the upcoming live-action adaptation of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast‘starring Emma Watson as the bookish Belle.?Rumours circulated a few weeks ago that Ryan Gosling was set to star as the furry prince with angry and cross-species issues, but the new Daddy will not be fulfilling our old-enough-to-know-better fantasies. Feminist campaigner Watson took to Twitter to confirm that it would be Downton Abbey‘s Dan Stevens who will be her romantic co-star.

Could not be more happy that this man will be Beast!!! Welcome aboard @thatdanstevens #beautyandthebeast pic.twitter.com/F1ghG3pvcU

? Emma Watson (@EmWatson) March 5, 2015

Stevens dramatically left the ITV costume drama at the peak of its popularity to pursue a Hollywood career. So far he’s starred in well-received indie movies, but is yet to find a massive part that will rival the leading role he had in Downton. The beast will be a great fit for him, and will win him even more adoring fans. Let’s just say people were very distraught when Matthew Crawley, his character in Downton Abbey, met an untimely demise in a Christmas special. Twitter was not a fun place that night.

The actor who will be playing Gaston was also announced by Watson. Luke Evans, you might remember him as the hot human in The Hobbit trilogy, is set to play the macho jerk who chases Belle despite her decidedly not interested vibe. While we hate Gaston as a character, we’re looking forward to seeing Luke flex his muscles in a bid to impress Watson.

Bonjour Gaston! ?? Welcome! #BeautyAndTheBeast pic.twitter.com/oerhe1ilGs

? Emma Watson (@EmWatson) March 5, 2015

Overall, great decisions on everyone’s parts. We wonder if Emma will recruit the lads to join her incredible gender equality campaign,?HeForShe?