[ad_1]
Josh Gad addresses the production difficulties impacting the Beauty and the Beast prequel series, which is currently on pause indefinitely.
Beauty and the Beast star Josh Gad recently explained why Disney has indefinitely delayed the 2017 movie’s in-development prequel series.
Gad discussed the Disney+ show in an interview with Collider. “I think that Luke [Evans] and I are still very much interested in the story,” he said. “There were elements that were really, really stunning and really brilliant. It’s that blessing and curse of, when you’re doing something as big and as ambitious as a Beauty and the Beast prequel, and you’re getting to play with the crown jewels, it’s gonna be an expensive undertaking. In terms of ambition and scope, and trying to marry it to one of the most expensive movies in the Disney library, its ambition ran away with it. There are ways that we can tell this story and live up to the promise of what it can be, but also do it in a way that won’t break the bank. Ultimately, I think that will be the way forward. I hope we get to do it. I know we’re still very interested. There’s some amazing stuff that Adam [Horowitz] and Eddy [Kitsis] did, and that Alan Menken did, that I hope audiences get to see and hear, one day.”
Disney subsidiary ABC Signature Studios first announced that a Beauty and the Beast prequel focused on Gaston (Evans) and LeFou (Gad) was in the works in March 2020. Evans and Gad didn’t officially join the project until June 2021, at which time Briana Middleton also joined the cast to play LeFou’s stepsister, Tilly. Eddy Kitsis and Adam Horowitz were appointed as executive producers alongside Evans and Gad, while Beauty and the Beast composer Alan Menken was reportedly onboard to provide the eight-episode series’ score.
Disney Hits Pause on the Beauty and the Beast Prequel Series
Fast forward less than a year, however, and the Beauty and the Beast prequel series’ outlook was suddenly a lot less positive. In February 2021, the news broke that Disney was putting the production on hold for the foreseeable future. Principal photography was originally set to kick off in Europe in the summer of 2022, but these plans were shelved due to creative and scheduling issues. Weather concerns were reportedly a factor in Disney’s decision-making process, as well.
Gad subsequently expressed frustration with the direction of the Beauty and the Beast property, although he was talking about the original movie and not the prequel series. Specifically, the star addressed the controversy surrounding LeFou’s status as Disney’s first openly gay character, admitting that this aspect of the film fell short. “I don’t think we did justice to what a real gay character in a Disney film should be,” he said.
Beauty and the Beast is currently streaming on Disney+. The prequel series does not yet have a release window.
Source: Collider
[ad_2]
Source link