Gaston returns: Peek at the ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Disney+ series
How did Gaston from Beauty and the Beast become such a d!ck? You know you’ve been asking yourself that ever since you first watched the iconic Disney movie – whether that was in its original animated form or as the recent live-action version. Well, it looks like we may finally get an answer to that question thanks to a Beauty and the Beast live-action prequel focusing on Gaston & LeFou’s early years!
Okay, so maybe the upcoming Disney+ miniseries won’t necessarily deal with Gaston’s secret origin – it’s not quite being pitched as Gaston Begins or anything like that. But it’s set years before the events of Beauty and the Beast and will definitely give us more insight into Gaston & LeFou’s friendship. How did a cruel bully like Gaston and a sensitive soul like LeFou become partners in crime?
Oh, and apparently LeFou has a step-sister we’ve never heard about? Tell us more, Disney+!
No one prequels like Gaston
The live-action prequel to Beauty and the Beast has actually been in the works for over a year, with Josh Gad – who played LeFou in the recent live-action remake, and who’s reprising the role in the prequel – as one of its driving forces. Gad is listed as showrunner along with Once Upon a Time creators Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz, with all three set to also write scripts for the eight-part limited series.
Luke Evans is also returning to his Beauty and the Beast role of Gaston, as you would expect. But then there’s the wild card, the left turn thrown to us by the creators: LeFou’s step-sister Tilly, who will be played by Briana Middleton. It seems like Tilly will be the reason Gaston & LeFou set off on a musical adventure that will explore Beauty and the Beast mythology and add more wrinkles to it.
“For anyone who’s ever wondered how a brute like Gaston and a goof like LeFou could have ever become friends and partners, or how a mystical enchantress came to cast that fateful spell on the prince-turned-beast, this series will finally provide those answers . . . and provoke a new set of questions,” teased Gary Marsh, president and chief creative officer of Disney Branded Television.
No one spins-off like Gaston
It’s really no surprise that we’re getting a follow-up of sorts to the live-action Beauty and the Beast remake. The 2017 movie made over a billion dollars at the box office and didn’t get obliterated by critics the way other recent live-action endeavors from Disney have. If anything, the surprise is that the new Beauty and the Beast project is about Gaston & LeFou – although that makes sense given Josh Gad’s involvement.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the genesis of the Gaston & LeFou Beauty & the Beast spinoff was spurred by the death of a different Disney project. Gad, Kitsis, and Horowitz had been working on a Disney+ follow-up to the classic Muppets Take Manhattan. The limited series Muppets Live Another Day ended up getting scrapped, but the creative trio continued working together – on a Gaston & LeFou pitch.
Now, Kitsis & Horowitz aren’t strangers to the world of Beauty and the Beast. Those of you who followed Once Upon a Time probably remember echoes of the Belle & Beast storyline in it. In the OUAT version, however, Robert Carlyle’s Rumpelstiltskin played the part of the beast. And while a more traditional Belle was played by Emilie de Ravin, we didn’t really get a take on Gaston & LeFou there.
No one milks a franchise like Gaston
Did we mention this Beauty and the Beast prequel is a musical? In case you need even more reasons to check it out, know that Alan Menken is going to compose the soundtrack – and serve as an executive producer. Menken has quite the Disney resume: he was involved in the soundtracks for The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Pocahontas, Hercules, and, of course, the original Beauty and the Beast, among others.
Needless to say, Gaston & LeFou’s early adventures in the world of Beauty and the Beast are just a drop in the bucket of Disney TV adaptations heading our way. Expect television shows based on Monsters Inc, The Sandlot, Turner & Hooch, and even an epic Magic Kingdom TV franchise coming down the line. And these are just the projects we’ve heard of!
There’s no escaping the truth: it’s a Disney world and we are just living in it.
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Are you excited to return to the world of Beauty and the Beast and learn about Gaston & LeFou’s past? Let us know in the comments!
