EXCLUSIVE: Sharon D. Clarke Joins Disney's 'Beauty and the Beast' Prequel Series

Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen Fra Fee, Jellani Alladin, and – most recently – Rita Ora join the cast of the upcoming Beauty and the Beast prequel over at Disney+. Today, we can exclusively confirm yet another actor’s involvement with the project.

Thanks to sources close to The DisInsider, we now know that English actress and singer Sharon D. Clarke will also appear in the series.

She’ll play a series regular named Claire Lafayette. Described as a regal woman, she is the overprotective matriarch of the noble Lafayette family. Despite living life as an elite aristocrat, and wanting nothing but a stable life for her children, she has a secret. Lafayette was once a swashbuckling adventurer. At some point, her past comes back to thrust her into the series’ action.

Clarke may not be a household name, but she has a distinguished career with roles spanning the screen and stage. She’s been awarded the prestigious Laurence Olivier Award numerous times, and most recently appeared on Doctor Who.

Now, in addition to Sharon D. Clarke’s casting, we can also confirm that the series will finally begin production next week. It’s expected to continue into the Spring.

In the series, Luke Evans and Josh Gad will return to reprise their roles of Gaston and LeFou respectively, with newcomer Briana Middleton also attached a new lead character named Tilly. It is unknown if other characters from 2017’s billion-dollar hit Beauty and the Beast will make an appearance in the series.

After a shocking revelation from Tilly’s past arises, she, Gaston, and LeFou will set off on the adventure of a lifetime that will reunite them with old friends and new rivals, all while revealing many mysteries and secrets their kingdom has been harboring for years.

Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, who previously created and oversaw the wildly popular ABC series Once Upon A Time, will serve as show-runners of this series alongside Josh Gad. They will also contribute as writers.

Kitsis, Horowitz, and Gad will all also executively produce the series with the legendary Alan Menken. Unsurprisingly, Menken will also provide the music for the series. Liesl Tommy (RESPECT) will also executively produce, but most importantly she’ll direct the series – as we previously reported – too.

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