Beauty And The Beast ‘prequel’ series gets green light: Luke Evans and Josh Gad to star in Disney+ show that explores origins of Gaston and LeFou
In case fans ever wondered why Beauty And The Beast’s villainous Gaston was so full of himself, or why his sidekick LeFou was so enamored with him in the first place, it looks like they’ll soon have their answer.
Josh Gad, famous for his contributions to the Disney empire thanks to Frozen’s Olaf and Beauty’s eccentric LeFou, is set to co-write, executive produce and star in a new prequel series.
It is set in the world of Beauty And The Beast and will explore his character’s origins as well as those of his beloved Gaston, who was played by hunky Welsh actor Luke Evans in the 2017 reboot of the animated classic.
As seen in The Hollywood Reporter, Gad, 39, will also serve as a showrunner for the six-episode series, alongside Once Upon a Time creators Eddy Kitsis and Adam Horowitz.
Crazy for LeFou: Josh Gad is set to co-write, executive produce and star in a new prequel series set in the world of Beauty And The Beast, which will explore his character LeFou’s origins as well as those of his beloved Gaston
The series will premiere on streaming platform Disney+.
Evans will also reprise his role from the recent ‘reimagining’ of the 1991 animated film, and he will also serve as a co-executive producer on the limited series.
Even before the Emma Watson/Dan Stevens reboot was released in 2017, Gad’s character LeFou made significant waves for being identified as somewhat queer, after he is seen briefly dancing with a gender-bending featured male extra at the end of the film.
He’s a big fan… of himself: Luke Evans will also reprise his role from the recent ‘reimagining’ of the 1991 animated film, and he will also serve as a co-executive producer on the limited series
Eccentric: Even before the Emma Watson/Dan Stevens reboot was released in 2017, Gad’s character LeFou made significant waves for being identified as somewhat queer
Although the move caused eye-rolls from all sides — from the conservative establishment due to its suggested queerness as well as the liberal side for not being evidently gay enough — it’s safe to assume that the new series won’t shy away from the idea of LeFou’s inherent sexuality.
The series — which has yet to find a title — will also be a ‘musical event,’ with favorite Disney composer Alan Menken in talks to return as well.
Menken famously won two Oscars in 1992 for the original film, for Best Music, Original Score and well as Best Music, Original Song for the title track (the latter of which having been shared by late songwriter Howard Ashman).
Quite a pair: The series — which has yet to find a title — will also be a ‘musical event’ and will premiere on streaming platform Disney+
The project is currently in the early stages of development, and will reportedly take place before the events of the film and also expand the world of Beauty and the Beast universe.
While Watson and Stevens are not currently attached to the show, sources claim they could potentially appear as featured guests in the series.
The 2017 live-action Beauty and the Beast grossed over $1 billion at the worldwide box office, leading to followup billion-dollar-earning live-action reboots Aladdin and Lion King last year, with more on the way.
Disney magic, reimagined: The live-action Beauty and the Beast grossed over $1 billion at the worldwide box office, leading to followup billion-dollar-earning reboots Aladdin and Lion King
Classic: The original 1991 film won two Oscars for its music, and made history as being the first animated film that was one of the five Best Picture nominees that year