Beyoncé Turned Down a Role in Disney’s Live-Action “Beauty and the Beast”
We loved everything about Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast, especially the stellar cast, but we still love hearing about how the movie might have been different. Last month, Idris Elba revealed that he auditioned to play Gaston in the film, and now director Bill Condon is sharing another alternate casting possibility.
Speaking to Yahoo! Movies, Condon reflected on the fact that he’s one of only two directors to cast Beyoncé in a musical. (He directed her in Dreamgirls; she also starred in the made-for-TV movie musical Carmen: A Hip Hopera.) “Isn’t that weird?” Condon asked. “I even tried to get her into Beauty and the Beast, but it wasn’t a big enough part.”
Honestly, it’s hard to imagine improving on the cast (which included Emma Watson as Belle and Dan Stevens as her brooding beast), but adding Beyoncé to the lineup certainly would have changed the movie. So which role did he have in mind for the “Formation” singer? “She would have been a good feather duster,” he told Yahoo! Movies.
In the end, as we now know, that job went to Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who slayed as Plumette.
Of course, just because the mother of three turned down a chance to appear in the film doesn’t mean that she didn’t enjoy the outcome. She even took her family to the flick’s world premiere in LA back in March.
Incidentally, this is not the first time Beyoncé has been up for a Disney gig. She was previously under consideration for the voice role of Princess Tiana in 2009’s The Princess and the Frog, a part that ultimately went to her Dreamgirls costar Anika Noni Rose. Casting director Jen Rudin claimed in 2013 that the Grammy winner wouldn’t audition.
Perhaps the third time will be the charm for Beyoncé and Disney. Surely Blue Ivy, Rumi, and Sir would like to see/hear their mom in one of the studio’s films. And we bet plenty of fans would too!
Would you like to see Beyoncé voice a Disney character or appear in a Disney movie? Let us know @BritandCo!
(Photo via Larry Busacca/Getty Images for NARAS)