‘Harry Potter’ starlet Emma Watson is set to star in a new version of ‘Beauty and the Beast’, as co-conceived by Guillermo del Toro.

As much as we all love Guillermo del Toro, somebody needs to remind him that he can’t be involved with EVERY upcoming Hollywood movie.

The latest project set to utilize the creative talents of the Pan’s Labyrinth filmmaker is a new version of Beauty and the Beast, as is being co-conceived by Denise Di Novi, the producer of early Tim Burton titles like Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Ed Wood. Suffice it to say, she and del Toro are undoubtedly planning a darker spin on the famous fairy tale.

According to Coming Soon, Emma Watson is set to headline the film, which would be her first post-Harry Potter starring role in a fantasy genre piece. She will next appear in the historical drama My Week with Marilyn later this year, and is also onboard for the coming-of-age novel adaptation, The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

Beauty and the Beast is just the latest project featuring del Toro in some sort of “creative consultant” or producer role – it joins two vastly different titles due to hit theaters later this year (Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark and Puss in Boots), as well as in-development projects like Rise of the Guardians and the Jim Henson Company’s retelling of Pinocchio. Additionally del Toro will actually hop in the director’s seat again for the upcoming Pacific Rim.

While the original Beauty and the Beast story doesn’t lend itself to quite as morbid or twisted a fairy tale “re-telling” as Carlo Collodi’s Pinocchio novel – especially in regards to each of these titles’ respective famous Disney animated counterpart – it’s still significantly less cheerful than your average children’s story. In the hands of del Toro, of course, it should be even darker (not to mention, potentially cool).

Nowadays, the description “fairy tale re-imagining that stars (either, a popular or rising) young actress” is starting to become a bit tired. Earlier this year saw the arrival of Amanda Seyfried in Red Riding Hood; next year we’re getting two Snow White movies with Lilly Collins and Kirsten Stewart; and now Watson’s set for Beauty & the Beast. That’s not to mention Shana Feste’s Little Mermaid-inspired project (titled… Mermaid), which will likely aim to snag an up-and-coming starlet as the titular character as well.

It’s the talent working behind the scenes that makes each of these films sound all the more (or less) appealing. Case in point: Tarsem Singh calling the shots on Relativity’s Snow White project and del Toro offering input on Beauty and the Beast makes these fairy tale reworking sounds more enticing than, say, when Twilight helmer Catherine Hardwicke was announced as director of Red Riding Hood.

Fans of Watson probably won’t mind seeing her play the prettier character in the new Beauty and the Beast either. Here’s to hoping the actress’ career continues to go well, now that her days of playing the brilliant Hermione Granger in Harry Potter are behind her.[screenrant.com]