Luke Evans and Josh Gad Give 'Very Sad' Update on 'Beauty and the Beast' Prequel Series

By Daniel S. Levine

The Beauty and the Beast prequel series starring Josh Gad and Luke Evans has been put on hold at Disney+. It's now unclear if the show will even be made at this point, sources told The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday. Evans and Gad later confirmed on Twitter that scheduling has made it difficult to get the project made. The project would have seen Gad and Evans playing LeFou and Gaston, respectively, the roles they played in Disney's 2017 live-action adaptation of the story. Singer Rita Ora joined the cast just days before the delay.

Gad and Evans took to Twitter to confirm the news by sharing a link to the THR article. "Sadly, 'Tis true," Gad and Evans both wrote in separate statements. "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. But... we truly hope we get to make it when our schedules allow." Evans wrote, "This is a very sad message for us to tweet. We are devastated. Goodbye, for now, from Gaston and Le fou." 

The project had been in development since at least March 2020 and was set to be a six-episode musical series. Scheduling challenges with the cast and uncontrollable elements like the weather in Europe have put the show on hold, THR reports. Production was supposed to start this spring, but Disney postponed it until the summer in hopes of better weather in Europe. However, sources said there were still some "creative elements" in flux that would've made shooting in the summer difficult. On top of that, some members of the cast have concrete deals to work on other projects starting in August. Rather than try to rush the production, Disney decided to postpone it altogether.

Once Upon a Time creators Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz served as showrunners for the project, alongside Gad. Alan Menken was signed to write new songs and Liesel Tommy was going to direct the pilot. Evans was also signed as an executive producer. The cast was also set to include Fra Fee (Hawkeye), Jelani Alladin (Frozen), and Ora. It's not clear how many members of the cast will be able to return when – or if – filming starts.

The biggest losers from this situation are easily Kitsis and Horowitz. Although they still have a big overall deal with ABC Signature, the two didn't get very far with an aborted Muppets project with Gad called Muppets Live Another Day. After that didn't get off the ground, they moved on to the Beauty and the Beast project. They also have a project at Apple TV+ called Amazing Stories, which saw its 10-episode order recently halved.

While this particular project is stalled, Disney+ has plenty of other projects in the works to make sure viewers keep renewing their subscriptions. Earlier this week, the streamer booked Catherine Zeta-Jones for the National Treasure series, which takes inspiration from the Nicolas Cage movies. In the series, Lisette Alexis stars as Jess, a brilliant young woman chasing a lost Pan-American treasure. Zeta-Jones plays a billionaire who has her sights set on the same piece of treasure. Disney also has plenty of Marvel and Star Wars shows, as well as shows based on High School Musical, The Sandlot, The Santa Clause, Percy Jackson, and other properties in the works. 

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