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Disney+ confirms Beauty & the Beast prequel

Luke Evans, Josh Gad and Briana Middleton

US-based streamer Disney+ has greenlit an eight-episode prequel to the 2017 live-action film Beauty & the Beast starring Luke Evans (The Alienist), Josh Gad (Frozen 2) and Briana Middleton (The Tender Bar).

Beauty & the Beast (working title) has been developed, executive produced and written by Gad alongside Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz (Once Upon a Time), each of whom will serve as a co-showrunner.

The series’ creative team also includes Tony Award-nominated director Liesl Tommy (Eclipsed, Respect), who has come on board as an executive producer and will direct the first episode.

It reunites Evans and Gad, who starred in the 2017 film together, and comes as the Mouse House celebrates the 30th anniversary of the animated 1991 classic of the same name.

Produced by Disney Branded Television and ABC Signature, it will feature an original soundtrack from the EGOT Award-winning composer Alan Menken, who will also serve as executive producer, and lyrics for the first episode will be by Oscar nominee Glenn Slater (Tangled). Production will begin in spring 2022.

The series will follow Gaston (Evans), LeFou (Gad) and LeFou’s step-sister Tilly (Middleton) after a surprising revelation from her past sends the unlikely trio off on an unexpected journey filled with romance, comedy and adventure.

“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, this series will finally provide those answers… and provoke a whole new set of questions,” said Gary Marsh, president and chief creative officer at Disney Branded Television.

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