Sadly, the upcoming Gaston and Lefou Beauty and the Beast prequel series will not move forward at Disney+, at least for now, Deadline has learned. The decision comes as the lead cast of the eight-episode series had been assembled ahead of the planned summer 2022 shoot in the U.K.
Per the site, the series was has been put on hold due to creative reasons, with the scripts not coming together in the direction expected for the offshoot and the creation of original music running behind schedule. With a number of creative elements up in the air and the shoot’s start already pushed from early spring to summer, a decision was made to put the project on hold. Pushing filming further into the fall was not an option because of talent availability and weather concerns.
This is the second incarnation of the project, which had been in the works at Disney for a couple of years. Disney intends to continue work on the series and eventually made it; it is unclear whether the current creative auspices will remain involved.
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In the series, Luke Evans and Josh Gad would return to reprise their roles of Gaston and LeFou respectively, with newcomer Briana Middleton playing a new lead character named Tilly. It is unknown if other characters from 2017’s billion-dollar hit Beauty and the Beast would’ve made 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, were the show-runners of this series alongside Josh Gad, as well as contributing writers. Kitsis, Horowitz, and Gad were attached as executive producers with the legendary Alan Menken. Unsurprisingly, Menken provided the music for the series. Liesl Tommy (RESPECT) was attached to direct the series – as we previously reported – too.