By: Alyssa James
Staff Writer

Walt Disney Pictures has been working hard on making many new live-action movies recently: “Cinderella” and “The Jungle Book” to name a couple. Although, they haven’t stopped there. They are in the midst of working on and releasing new live-action movies within the next few years.

The new live-action version of “Beauty and the Beast” stars Emma Watson as Belle and Dan Stevens as the Beast.

“I knew all the words by heart. I knew all the songs by heart,” said Watson to Entertainment Weekly when asked about the film.

This is going to be the classic fairy tale retold. If you aren’t familiar with the story, it is about a prince who, due to his arrogance, becomes the Beast and must learn to love and receive love before he can turn back into the prince. The story follows the young woman whom he traps in his castle and their love story.

There has also been talk about two other live-action movies. “Snow White” and “Oliver Twist” are in the works, both being produced by Marc Platt, known for such performances as Broadway’s “Wicked.” There is not much information currently about who will star in these movies or when they will be released.

Although information is lacking, we still know a little about each of these movies. “Snow White” will be a musical and will expand on the original story while “Oliver Twist”, though also a musical, will be set in present-day America. Other upcoming movies to watch out for information about are the live-action adaptations of “The Little Mermaid” and “The Lion King.”

“Beauty and the Beast” will be in theaters March 17, 2016.

Contact the author at ajames16@mail.wou.edu