The Beauty and the Beast prequel series is still in the works, according to Luke Evans. The actor portrayed Gaston in the 2017 hit, which raked in $1.27 billion at the box office and received two Oscar nominations. As far as Disney's live-action remakes go, Beauty and the Beast is considered one of the best releases thus far, with good reviews from critics and fans alike. Of course, with a payday of over a billion dollars, Disney was bound to capitalize on the success. However, the series, which received the green light in 2021, was delayed indefinitely in February following conflicting reports of creative differences, scheduling issues, budget concerns, and a wish to film in the summer for better weather conditions.
Now, Evans is assuring fans the project is still in development despite the lengthy delay. During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the actor sat down to discuss the progress of the prequel, saying, "we want to honor these characters with the best story we can possibly deliver."
"It's been put on hold. We just wanna make sure that it is absolutely the best it can be, and if that means we just have to wait a little longer to finesse certain pieces of it, then that's what we're going to do because this is a very important legacy. We want to honor these characters with the best story we can possibly deliver. It's just on hold. It is gonna happen. We're very excited about it. At some point in the near future, it will happen."
Josh Gad and Luke Evans Are Excited to Explore Their Characters
In the 2017 film, Evans is Gaston, the boastful suitor to Emma Watson's Belle, and Josh Dag plays LeFou, his sidekick. Their relationship and origins will be explored further in the Beauty and the Beast prequel series, which excites the duo. Gad and Evans serve as executive producers for the spinoff. At the same time, Gad elected to take on the showrunner responsibilities with Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, known for creating Once Upon a Time. Evans tells EW they came up with the idea for the prequel when the pair began brainstorming ideas where they could work together.
"We came up with the idea of, what would it be like to delve into the past of Gaston and LeFou and how they met and who they were and why they became the people that we meet in the movie that we all know and love? That opened up several cans of worms. To navigate a story of those two people and also new characters, and bring them right up to the moment where you meet them in the movie has been a thrilling experience. There's a lot of ways it could go. So that's where we have been so far and where we hopefully will go to in the future."
Fans of Beauty and the Beast should feel reassured, as Evans was confident in the prequel series thus far and wholeheartedly believes it will arrive on Disney+ at some point. But, for now, audiences will have to wait for a concrete confirmation from the streaming service. However, this bit of good news should make fans of the film very happy.