Guillermo del Toro will direct Beauty and the Beast for Warner Bros., which has Emma Watson in final negotiations to star.

Andrew Davies (Bridget Jones's Diary, The Three Musketeers) has been tapped to write the screenplay, which is said to be a period piece, although no further story details were given. Guillermo del Toro will write a treatment for Beauty and the Beast, which Andrew Davies will work off of.

Denise Di Novi and Alison Greenspan are producing alongside Guillermo del Toro. The filmmaker was originally only set to produce Beauty and the Beast, but now he will direct, although it isn't known if this will be his next directorial effort after Pacific Rim.

This project is not to be confused with the other Beauty and the Beast, which recently mobilized through French companies Eskwad and Pathe. We reported last week that Vincent Cassel and Léa Seydoux will star in that version, for director Christophe Gans.