Emma Watson is putting a new spin on Belle in Beauty and the Beast.
In the exclusivebehind the scenes featurette of the movie above, director Bill Condon says, “She really is the first modern Disney princess, who doesn’t want to be a princess, someone who is more interested in figuring out who she is than in finding a guy and getting married.”
Watson explains, “We wanted to give her this element of being quite industrious, and very inventive.”
The live-action adaptation co-stars Downton Abbey‘s Dan Stevens as Beast, Luke Evans as Gaston and Josh Gad as Le Fou. The cast also includes Emma Watson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Ian McKellan, Emma Thompson, Stanley Tucci and Kevin Kline.
“Emma as Belle empowers a whole new generation of girls,” Gad says.
Watson feels the pressure. “I know what she meant to me as a young girl,” she says. “When you love something that much you really want to do it justice.”
Beauty and the Beast is in theaters on Mar. 17. And make sure to watch E! News on Friday at 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. for all the scoop from the movie’s Thursday night premiere in Hollywood.
