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Fans of Gaston and Le Fou will be disappointed, because the Beauty and the Beast spinoff musical series Little Town that was meant to air on Disney+ has now been postponed by Disney indefinitely. According to The Hollywood Reporter, “delays with creative elements and scheduling challenges with its cast” caused the Beauty and the Beast prequel series to be put on hold. The unfavorable weather in Europe, where filming was meant to take place, posed an additional challenge as the filmmakers tried to squeeze in summer shoots “to film in beautiful weather”.
Josh Gad as LeFou and Luke Evans as Gaston in ‘Beauty and the Beast’, starring Emma Watson as Belle and Dan Stevens as the Beast. Credit: whatsondisneyplus.com
The Hollywood Reporter also pointed out that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic only exacerbated things and “has made scheduling a considerable challenge as actors, writers, directors and factors like soundstage and location availability was turned upside down following the industry-wide production shutdown in 2020”.
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. https://t.co/6OLkv6mrEe
— Luke Evans (@TheRealLukevans) February 10, 2022
Luke Evans, who was cast as Gaston in the 2017 live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast and who was meant to reprise his role, confirmed the news on Twitter. “Sadly, ‘Tis true. We tried to make it all work but under the gun it wasn’t meant to be… for now,” he Tweeted. “These characters and this story will live on, but sometimes the best intentions & reality collide & nothing can be done.”
Josh Gad, who was meant to reprise his role in the Beauty and the Beast prequel series alongside Luke Evans as Gaston and newcomer Briana Middleton. Credit: uk.movies.yahoo.com
Josh Gad (who was meant to reprise his 2017 role as Le Fou in Little Town as well) Tweeted the same exact Tweet, implying that the response to the news was a planned post. Gad also shared a gif of Belle and the Beast, writing “But… we truly hope we get to make it when our schedules allow.”
But… we truly hope we get to make it when our schedules allow. pic.twitter.com/A3UpgRXKCg
— Josh Gad (@joshgad) February 10, 2022
Luke Evans also followed up with another Tweet, saying “This is a very sad message for us to tweet. We are devastated. Goodbye, for now, from Gaston and Le fou”.
Luke Evans as Gaston in Beauty and the Beast, a role he meant to reprise in the Beauty and the Beast prequel series for Disney+. Credit: Pinterest
This is a very sad message for us to tweet. We are devastated. Goodbye, for now, from Gaston and Le fou ❤️
— Luke Evans (@TheRealLukevans) February 10, 2022
Comedic actor Josh Gad, who is known for playing Olaf in the Frozen films, messaged Luke saying “Maybe I’ll come out to Columbia and we can drink together and just shoot footage of us drunk in Bogotá singing Alan Menken‘s new songs”. This is presumably in reference to Luke Evan’s recent stint in Colombia, where he has been filming the action series Echo 3 for Apple TV.
Maybe I’ll come out to Columbia and we can drink together and just shoot footage of us drunk in Bogotá singing Alan Menken‘s new songs. https://t.co/kX2egocyfm
— Josh Gad (@joshgad) February 10, 2022
With no start date in sight, and several A-list actors starring in the show who were already hard to book schedule-wise (including singer Rita Ora), it seems like the Beauty and the Beast spinoff is in danger of becoming something other than what was originally intended. Even if the Disney+ show Little Town does end up being made and released (which is still something that Disney is intending so far for the miniseries), it might not have its two lead actors playing Gaston and Le Fou if Luke Evans and Josh Gad are too busy with other projects when production actually starts.
