Finally—we know who's going to play the Lumiere to Ian McKellen's Cogsworth. Ewan McGregor is joining the cast to play the smooth-talking candelabra in Disney's upcoming live-action version of Beauty and the Beast, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
This is a near-perfect casting decision—Lumiere is a maitre d' who has been turned into a candlestick after an evil curse, but who still has enough game to smooch with Fifi, the French maid who's been turned into a feather duster. McGregor is an adorable Scottish actor who can make anything sound both charming and believable: listen to him say "The word bagel is old English for 'butthole bread'" on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Really, really great work.
McGregor also joins an almost equally perfect cast—Disney has already signed some great actors to the film: Emma Watson will play Belle, Dan Stevens (from Downton Abbey) will play the Beast, and Luke Evans (from Fast & Furious 6 and Dracula Untold) will play the dastardly villain Gaston.
The movie, directed by Bill Condon, will begin production in May in London, and now with McGregor on board, this can only mean one thing: the "Be Our Guest" musical number will be off the wall. (Remember when he sang in Moulin Rouge?)
