One of Disney’s biggest animated hits is getting a facelift. According to Variety, the House of Mouse has tapped Bill Condon (Twilight: Breaking Dawn) to direct a new live-action take on Beauty and the Beast. This is part of a recent trend by Disney to take established classics from its animation library, like Alice in Wonderland and Sleeping Beauty, and put new live-action versions on the screen.
So far the strategy has worked, with 2010’s Alice in Wonderland raking in more than $1 billion worldwide, and Maleficent starting off strong at the box office this past weekend. In addition to Condon’s Beauty and the Beast, Disney also has live-action versions of The Jungle Book and Cinderella in production, as well as another Alice.
[via Variety]
