Luke Evans is ‘devastated’ after Disney+ pause production on the Beauty and the Beast prequel

Virgin Radio

11 Feb 2022, 12:22

Sad news for Disney fans!

The planned prequel series for the 2017 Beauty and the Beast adaptation has been put on hold indefinitely - and the cast are devastated.

Only a few days ago, Rita Ora was the latest star to sign up for the new spinoff, but since then, the powers at be at Disney+ put the kibosh on the film going any further. 

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the series is on hold due to delays with some of the creative elements and scheduling conflicts with the cast. 

It’s not all bad news though. The publication also stated that the streaming service still plans to make the eight-part series, but it will need to take place when all the stars (literally) can align. 

The spinoff was supposed to follow Gaston, played by Luke Evans, and companion LeFou, portrayed by Josh Gad, just before the Beauty and the Beast, in an origin story for the comedic duo. 

Luke Evans shared his disappointment and confirmed the news on his Twitter. He wrote: “Sadly, ‘Tis true. 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.

“This is a very sad message for us to tweet. We are devastated. Goodbye, for now, from Gaston and Le fou.”

His co-star Josh shared the same message on his social media, and added: “We truly hope we get to make it when our schedules allow.”

Only a few days before, pop star Rita tweeted about her excitement in joining the Disney project, and wrote: “I can’t keep the secret any longer! I’m beyond excited to be joining the cast of the Beauty and the Beast prequel series!

‘As a child, I remember watching Beauty and the Beast with my family over and over and immediately falling in love with the music and characters.”

Emma Watson and Dan Stevens starred in the 2017 remake of the beloved fairy tale, alongside a host of famous faces including Emma Thompson, Ian McKellen and Ewen McGregor. 

The prequel was first announced back in March 2020, and production was due to start in Europe in spring, but was then pushed to summer in the hopes of some beautiful weather as the backdrop. 

The cast scheduling conflicts then pushed that back further as some of the series would’ve been filmed in the UK and, unsurprisingly, TV bosses didn’t want to take a chance on our famously gloomy weather.