Luke Evans is in negotiations to play the villainous Gaston in Disney’s live-action retelling of Beauty and the Beast, which stars Harry Potter actress Emma Watson.
Bill Condon is directing, with David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman of Mandeville Films producing.
The script was written by Evan Spiliotopoulos and rewritten by Steve Chbosky.
Production will begin later this year. No release date has been set.
In the original tale, Gaston was the handsome antagonist who tried to win Belle’s heart and after losing it to the beast, led a group of townspeople on a hunt to kill the creature.
Disney has been rebooting several classic tales with Cinderella, starring Lily James, opening next Friday. Also in the works are 3-D re-tellings of The Jungle Book and Pete’s Dragon.
Evans, has been a busy actor in the fantasy realm of late, was last seen in New Line’s The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. He also starred in Universal’s Dracula Untold after playing the villain in Fast and Furious 6.