In 2013 Emma Watson was supposed to star as beloved Disney princess, Cinderella. Disney's live-action adaptation of Cinderella was in production, but the darker vision of Mark Romanek was traded for Kenneth Branaugh's whimsical one, Watson walked away and left the glass slippers.
This all happened before Beauty and the Beast was even a consideration.
Watson said in a recent interview with Total Film that she was unaware that Disney was planning to adapt Beauty and the Beast when she passed on Cinderella but that Belle "resonated with me so much more than Cinderella did."
Watson sees Belle as more of a role model and continued saying
"She remains curious, compassionate, and open-minded. And that's the kind of woman I would want to embody as a role model, given the choice…
There's this kind of outsider quality that Belle had, and the fact she had this really empowering defiance of what was expected of her. In a strange way, she challenges the status quo of the place she lives in, and I found that really inspiring…
She manages to keep her integrity and have a completely independent point of view. She's not easily swayed by other people's perspective — not swayed by fear-mongering or scapegoating."
Plus Watson and Belle both love books! It’s a perfect match!
And I can’t get over the trailers and how Watson is definitely Belle after all.