Coming hard on the heels of the announcement that Disney’s live-action remake of Aladdin would be getting a completely original sequel, it’s not exactly shocking that Beauty And The Beast, one of the studio’s other most successful remakes, would also be mined for new material.
However, fans of the romantic Disney fairytale might not want to get their hopes up that anything even remotely like a sequel is coming their way: similar to how Aladdin spurred a spin-off about a vaguely annoying and superfluous side-character before we got news of a sequel, a Beauty And The Beast prequel series is being developed, which will focus on….LeFou and Gaston?
If all goes well, the series is planned to wind up on the Disney+ streaming service, where it will run for six episodes and feature multiple musical numbers presumably composed by Alan Menken, who is expected to board the project. Josh Gad and Luke Evans, who portrayed the duo of bombastic villains in the 2017 remake of Beauty And The Beast, are also returning: Gad himself will executive produce the series and write the scripts alongside Once Upon A Time showrunners Eddy Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, close friends of his.
The trio originally attempted to develop a Muppets series for Disney+, which was scrapped months before the streaming service’s release. But who knows? Maybe if this series does well, they’ll be able to make their original idea a reality.
NO ONE….LIKES GASTON
From the sound of it, the series will likely try to be as over-the-top and imaginative as possible, with the mention of musical numbers conjuring up visions of Gaston and LeFou’s hilarious duo, “No One Like Gaston”, which both actors did a very good job of performing in Beauty And The Beast.
However, once you look past the potential for new tunes, a different, slightly darker picture begins to emerge. If the series is to be a prequel, as rumored, it will probably focus on the two characters meeting during their time in the French Army and bonding over their shared love of killing, trouble-making and generally annoying the local population of France.
Gaston, in the remake, is a character whom LeFou suggests was scarred or traumatized by his time in the Army, something which only increases the villain’s violent tendencies. On top of that, Gaston is a narcissist and a misogynist: neither quality is likely to make him a great protagonist.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: AN EXCLUSIVELY LEFOU MOMENT
On the other hand, LeFou comes with his own set of problems, some of which have to do with the fact that he was compliant in and supportive of all of Gaston’s aggressive endeavors. In the live-action Beauty And The Beast, LeFou was strongly implied to be a member of the LGBTQ+ community, something that could help to explain his unconditional devotion for Gaston, if it were explored.
Since the character has become a symbol of the problems of queerbaiting, it would certainly be fitting if he were finally made “exclusively gay”, just as Beauty And The Beast director Bill Condon hinted he would be.
As for the question on everyone’s lips: we don’t yet know if Emma Watson or Dan Stevens will make cameo appearances in the series, though it’s not implausible. Since Gaston already knows Belle before the events of Beauty And The Beast, it would make sense for them to first meet here, even if their interactions are brief due to Watson’s busy schedule.
What would you like to see from the LeFou and Gaston series, if anything? Do you want a Beauty And The Beast sequel at some point? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
