Emma Thompson Officially “Mrs. Potts,” “Beauty and the Beast” Casting Update

Recently, Emma Watson’s Beauty and the Beast was given an official release date–it will hit theaters in 3D on March 17, 2017. The cast list has also been updated. Emma Thompson was rumored to be in the talks of playing the role of Mrs. Potts; now it appears that the Harry Potter alum has been officially added to the cast list. Kevin Kline also has joined the cast, as Maurice, Belle’s inventive father. MTV writes:

Now we’ve learned that this latest version of the classic fairy tale will officially hit theaters in 3D on March 17th, 2017. A long time to wait, but hey, at least you don’t have to spend all that time as a candlestick, right? And in the meantime, the live-action film has expanded its cast to include another “Emma” — namely Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts…

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But that’s not all! Thompson will also be joined by Kevin Kline as Belle’s father, aka “Crazy Old Maurice.” You’ll get to hear an all-new recording of that song in this version, by the way, along with two new songs written by the Academy Award-winning duo Alan Menken and Sir Tim Rice.

Menken, who scored the animated 1991 original, will also score the new film as well, which begins production in London this May. Bill Condon (“Dreamgirls,” “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn“) will direct based on a screenplay by “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” writer Stephen Chbosky.