After winning our hearts in Moulin Rouge we hoped Ewan McGregor would one day return to the movie musical! According to The Hollywood Reporter, the stage and screen star is in final talks to play Lumiere in Disney’s live-action version of Beauty and the Beast. McGregor joins Emma Watson, Kevin Kline, Audra McDonald, Josh Gad and many more in the stellar lineup. The movie, directed by Bill Condon, will include music from the original 1991 animated film along with additional songs penned by Alan Menken and Tim Rice.
Lumiere is a sophisticated maître d’ who is turned into a candelabra by the curse that falls on the prince’s castle. His numbers include the classic "Be Our Guest." The film will be released on March 17, 2017.
McGregor was recently seen on Broadway in The Real Thing. Nominated for an Olivier Award for his performance as Sky Masterson in the West End revival of Guys and Dolls in 2006, his other London stage credits include playing Iago in Othello at the Donmar Warehouse and appearing in Little Malcolm and His Struggles Against the Eunuchs in the West End. His additional screen credits include Trainspotting, Star Wars, August: Osage County, Haywire, The Ghost, Amelia, Jack the Giant Slayer, Angels and Demons, I Love You Phillip Morris, Deception, Incendiary, Cassandra's Dream, Miss Potter, Scenes of a Sexual Nature, Stay, The Island, Star Wars: Episode II and Star Wars: Episode III, Young Adam, Down With Love, Big Fish, Black Hawk Down, Rogue Trader, Little Voice, Velvet Goldmine, A Life Less Ordinary, The Pillow Book and Shallow Grave.