Luke Evans to play Gaston in Disney's "Beauty and the Beast"
Meet the new Gaston.Luke Evans is in negotiations to play the self-obsessed, big-biceped villain in Disney's live-action retelling of "Beauty and the Beast," Variety reported Wednesday.Emma Watson is playing Belle in the film, which is being directed by Bill Condon ("The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn") from a script written by Evan Spiliotopoulos with rewrites by Steve Chbosky.Production is reported to begin later this year, with no release date currently set.Evans most recently starred in "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" and "Dracula Untold."This project is one of a number of revivals of beloved Disney franchises. The studio's live-action "Cinderella," starring Lily Evans, opens next Friday, and a new version of "The Jungle Book" is also due out next year.