As reported by Variety, Ian McKellen will be bringing his acting talents—and undying love for the passage of time—to Disney’s live-action Beauty And The Beast. McKellen will play Cogsworth, a character who may be better known as the little clock man. Cogsworth also represents the beloved Disney archetype of the “stuffy rule-follower with a British accent” (see also: Zazu), which means it will be a little funny when mildly unfortunate things happen to him in the movie.
As we’ve previously reported, Beauty And The Beast will star Emma Watson as Belle, Dan Stevens as the Beast, Luke Evans as the meat-headed Gaston, Josh Gad as the bumbling sidekick LeFou, Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts, and Kevin Kline as Belle’s father. That only leaves a handful of characters that have yet to be cast, but one of them happens to Cogsworth’s good friend, Lumière. If only there were an actor who was particularly well-suited to play Ian McKellen’s friend….
Anyway, Beauty And The Beast will be in theaters on March 17, 2017.