FILM & TV

‘Beauty and the Beast’ Prequel Series is Coming to Disney Plus

A Beauty and the Beast prequel is underway at Disney Plus based on the 2017 live-action movie. Once Upon a Time creators, Eddy Kitsis and Adam Horowitz are putting their fairytale knowledge to the test alongside Josh Gad and Luke Evans.
DFree / Shutterstock / Hannah Hall

A Beauty and the Beast prequel is underway at Disney Plus based on the 2017 live-action movie. Once Upon a Time creators, Eddy Kitsis and Adam Horowitz are putting their fairytale knowledge to the test alongside Josh Gad and Luke Evans.

The series follows returning characters LeFou (Gad) and Gaston (Evans). In addition, The Tender Bar’s Briana Middleton has signed on to the cast as Lefou’s stepsister, Tilly. Beauty and the Beast will be an ambitious project, co-written by Gad, Kitsis, and Horowitz. ABC Signature Studios serves as producer.

“There are few more precious gems in the Disney library than this iconic franchise, and this prequel is both a love letter to what’s come before and its own spectacular adventure,” ABC Signature president Jonnie Davis stated in Hollywood Reporter. “Josh, Eddy and Adam’s vision gives us a window into the origin of Luke’s Gaston and Josh’s LeFou with the twist of a new partner in crime — Tilly, played by the luminous Briana Middleton.”

Set years before Beauty or the Beast come into the picture, the prequel follows the trio on a journey of “romance, comedy, and adventure.” They might be journeying through a familiar kingdom that Belle sang about, but LeFou, Gaston, and Tilly encounter new mysteries and secrets along the way.

“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,” Gary Marsh, President of Disney Branded Television, shared according to Hollywood Reporter. “This series will finally provide those answers … and provoke a whole new set of questions,”

The eight-episode limited musical series is expected to begin production in the Spring of 2022. In the meantime, hear what Gad has to say about the prequel in the video above.