See The First Look At H.E.R. In The Live-Action Beauty And The Beast Special
Pop star H.E.R. and singer Josh Groban star in the upcoming Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration special.
Disney has released the first look image (via Comicbook.com) of pop str H.E.R. as Belle and Josh Groban as Beast in the upcoming Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration musical special. The show is set to be taped in front of a live studio audience and will feature live-action and animated segments, along with musical performances. Hamish Hamilton directs the special with Jon M. Chu. executive producing.
H.E.R. and Groban will feature as the leads in the special. The rest of the cast of Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration is rounded out by Rita Moreno as the narrator, Joshua Henry as Gaston, Martin Short as Lumiere, David Alan Grier as Cogsworth, Rizwan Manji as LeFou, Jon Jon Briones as Maurice, Leo Abelo Perry as Chip, and Shania Twain as Mrs. Potts. The special is set to air on ABC on December 15th and stream on Disney+ the following day.
H.E.R. is best known for her career as a Grammy-winning R&B artist, so Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration will be one of her first big acting roles. Of course, H.E.R is no stranger to performing live. She also has experience in the realm of film and TV, as she won an Oscar for Best Original Song for the song “Fight for You,” made for 2021’s Judas and the Black Messiah.
For H.E.R., the Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration special will be one of her biggest projects of 2022. We didn’t hear as much music from her this year, since she released her first big studio album Back of My Mind in 2021. In 2022, we’ve mostly heard H.E.R. make guest appearances on songs like “Closer” by Saweetie, “Where I Go” by NxWorries, and “Chronicles” by Cordae.
Fans of H.E.R. should be looking forward to her appearances as Belle in Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration, as her voice should bring some new life to the role. H.E.R. will continue Disney’s trend of casting beloved Grammy-nominated artists in Disney live-action reboot roles. Halle Bailey, one half of the Grammy-nominated duo Chole X Halle, will be taking on the role of Ariel in Disney’s live-action reboot of The Little Mermaid in 2023.
Playing the live-action version of Disney princesses isn’t the only thing that H.E.R. and Halle Bailey have in common. The two artists will also be appearing together in a musical adaptation film of The Color Purple in 2023. H.E.R. and her Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration co-star David Alan Grier both have roles in The Color Purple, along with a star-studded cast that includes Taraji P. Henson, Elizabeth Marvel, Louis Gossett Jr, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Aujanue Ellis, Corey Hawkins, Stephen Hill, Ciara, Deon Cole, Tamela J. Mann, Jon Batiste, Fantasia Barrino, Aba Arthur, and Charles Green.
With H.E.R.’s one-two punch of Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration and The Color Purple, her acting career is off to a promising start. Hopefully, she can continue to give fans great music while making room for her acting roles. Make sure to check her out when she hits the stage for the Beauty and the Beast special on ABC or Disney+ in December.
