Beauty and the Beast fans are down in the dumps as news breaks regarding a delay in shooting.
It seems due to creative elements and scheduling challenges, Disney+ has decided to push back the spinoff featuring LeFou (Josh Gad) and Gaston (Luke Evans).
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Released in 2017, the live-action Beauty and the Beast grossed more than $1 billion at the worldwide box office. And with fans calling for less live-action remakes and more original content, fans were excited when a prequel featuring the two reprising their roles was announced. In 2021, it was reported the project would be an eight -episode musical series for the streaming platform, adding Briana Middleton as LeFou’s stepsister Tilly.
Beauty And The Beast No More
News of shelving the project comes four days after it was announced that singer Rita Ora would be joining the show. Fans were also excited to see Fra Fee (Hawkeye) and Jelani Alladin added to the growing cast.
Besides starring, Gad and Evans were supposed to be exec producers, with Gad even helping with writing the scripts. Joining them on the creative side was Alan Menken, musical genius, and creators of a hit show Once Upon a Time, Edward Kitsis and Adama Horowitz. With the pilot directed by Liesl Tommy.
It’s no secret that COVID has wreaked havoc across Hollywood and most productions the last few years. Causing a lot of scheduling issues in general, creating tight windows of availability for actors, soundstages, writers, and directors. This includes some of the talents for the spinoff with hard-outs for projects beginning in August. Both Gad and Evans having other projects in the works; they tweeted out identical messages.
“Sadly, ‘Tis true. We tried to make it all work but under the gun it wasn’t meant to be… for now. These characters and this story will live on, but sometimes the best intentions & reality collide & nothing can be done. “
It seems Disney+ has had a few creative setbacks since its launch, including the collapse of the Lizzie McGuire revival. It isn’t clear if or when we will see this Beauty and the Beast spinoff get a green light, but we do know that this is a sad day for everyone. Evans wrote in a follow-up tweet
“This is a very sad message for us to tweet. We are devastated. Goodbye, for now, from Gaston and Lefou.”
Hopefully, while Evans is working hard on the live-action Pinocchio for Disney, he can wish upon a star that this series will one day be in talks again. Until then, fans can drown their sorrows in a pint while rewatching the two shine in the 2017 live-action Beauty and the Beast.
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Source: THR
