Disney Plus' upcoming Beauty and the Beast TV spinoff has been put on hold. Delays with creative elements and scheduling issues with the cast have resulted in the show coming to an unexpected halt.
The Disney Plus prequel to the 2017 Beauty and the Beast film was initially developed in March 2020 as a six-episode series that was set to feature Josh Gad and Luke Evans reprising their roles as Gaston and LeFou, respectively. The show, which would serve as an origin story for the iconic characters, was picked up for two additional episodes in 2018 and Briana Middleton was cast as LeFou's stepsister, Tilly.
The Hollywood Reporter notes that filming on the Beauty and the Beast spinoff was scheduled to begin this spring but was moved to the summer in Europe. However, Disney decided to postpone the current timeline as some creative elements such as the scripts and original music weren't coming together or running behind schedule. In addition, some members of the cast weren't able to accommodate the new dates, and pushing production further into the fall wasn't possible due to weather concerns. As a result, Disney Plus decided to put the project on hold for now, with no word on when it will pick the project back up, if ever.
The Beauty and the Beast live-action film was released in 2017 and became a box office hit, grossing over $1 billion worldwide. The upcoming prequel was set to become the latest Disney intellectual property to be turned into a series and added to the company's streamer, joining a plethora of Marvel Studios and Star Wars titles such as Hawkeye, Loki, The Mandalorian, and The Book of Boba Fett, among others. For now, it remains unclear whether a new timeline will open up, or if the spinoff's current cast will be able to make a return.
This isn't the first time that Disney has encountered creative difficulties regarding anticipated projects. Back in 2019, Hilary Duff announced that she would be reprising her beloved Disney Channel character Lizzie Maguire for a revival series that would feature all original members of the cast. Unfortunately, the show was canceled two episodes into production because Disney thought the plot was too mature for its fanbase.
More recently, Peter Dinklage slammed Disney's upcoming Snow White remake for the tale's derogatory portrayal of dwarfism during an appearance on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast. The Game of Thrones alum called out the progressive imbalance in casting a person of Latin descent (West Side Story's Rachel Zegler) while also leaning on harmful stereotypes about dwarfs. Disney later responded to Dinklage's criticism, assuring him and others that the film would take "a different approach to avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film."
Beauty and the Beast (2017) is now available on Disney Plus.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter