Disney is developing a live-action Beauty and the Beast prequel about Gaston and LeFou for Disney+. In the four (or so) months since the streaming service launched in the U.S. last November, Disney+ has already been criticized for failing to deliver on the high expectations ahead of its debut. The problem is the streamer's original content or, rather, the lack thereof; save for The Mandalorian, Disney+ has yet to produce a bonafide success to rival those on Netflix and Hulu. It's believed the streamer may've even moved Marvel's WandaVision up to a December 2020 release to help address this problem.

In addition to dipping into Star Wars and the MCU with projects like the Obi-Wan series and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (along with WandaVision), Disney+ is turning to the library of live-action remakes Disney has built up over the last decade for inspiration. They've already started working on a spinoff of the live-action Aladdin that centers on Prince Anders, a character played (very) briefly by Billy Magnussen in Guy Ritchie's remake. Now, they've got a similar project in the pipeline based on Bill Condon's live-action retelling of Disney's animated Beauty and the Beast adaptation.

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THR is reporting Disney+ is teaming up with Once Upon a Time creators Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis on a Beauty and the Beast prequel limited series about Gaston and his sidekick LeFou. Luke Evans and Josh Gad are set to reprise their respective roles from Condon's movie for the series, which is intended to span six episodes. Composer Alan Menken is currently in talks to write brand-new music and songs for the show.

Beauty and the Beast Luke Evans Josh Gad Gaston LeFou

In both the 1991 animated Beauty and the Beast film and its 2017 live-action remake, Gaston is an egotistical hunter who's determined to make the heroine Belle his wife, with the help of his sycophantic sidekick LeFou. Evans and Gad are the only actors attached to reprise their roles from Condon's film in the prequel show for the moment. However, THR says cast members like Emma Watson and Dan Stevens (who played Belle and the Beast) could potentially guest-star. The whole project was reportedly born out of Horowitz and Kitsis' time collaborating with Gad on Muppets Live Another Day, a sequel series to The Muppets Take Manhattan that Disney+ scrapped last September. Apparently, the trio started talking about the concept of a Beauty and the Beast prequel about Gaston and LeFou shortly after that.

Many no doubt recall the controversy that ensued when it came to light LeFou would be canonically gay in the live-action Beauty and the Beast. If anything, though, the film arguably came under more fire after its release, when moviegoers found out this queer "representation" amounted to little more than a brief shot of LeFou dancing with another man. A prequel series about Gaston and LeFou could allow the latter's sexual orientation to be explored in a more meaningful fashion (assuming it's not deemed "too mature" for Disney+, anyway). Similarly, it could be the closest thing to the Disney villain series Book of Enchantment, which was put into development then cancelled almost three months before Disney+'s domestic launch.

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We will bring you more details on the Beauty and the Beast prequel series as the story develops.

Source: THR