Beauty and the Beast’s Josh Gad gives cryptic update on LeFou and Gaston prequel
A Beauty and the Beast prequel series following iconic villain Gaston and his bumbling sidekick LeFou has been officially ordered by Disney. (Disney)
Josh Gad has revealed that the “incredible” Beauty and the Beast prequel series focused on the friendship of Gaston (Luke Evans) and LeFou (Gad) will begin filming later this year.
As keen fans will remember, the 2017 live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast strongly hinted that LeFou was gay and had feelings for Gaston.
Many believe that the upcoming Disney Plus prequel, Little Town, might delve more into LeFou’s sexuality – and it looks like we won’t have to wait too long to find out what the series has in store.
Speaking to Comicbook, Gad confirmed that the series is “still planning on shooting this spring” as he added: “The scripts are incredible, the music is unbelievable, all-new songs by Alan Menken, we’re casting now.”
According to Deadline, the Beauty and the Beast prequel series will follow Gaston and LeFou as they set off on a journey with LeFou’s stepsister Tilly (Brianna Middleton) after a “surprising revelation” from her past comes to light.
The title, Little Town, comes from a lyric from the classic song “Belle” from the movie. It is expected to premiere on the streaming service early next year.
The series is being created by Once Upon a Time’s Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis and will be directed by Respect’s Liesl Tommy.
Much was made of the Beauty and the Beast remake’s supposed gay themes, but queer fans were mostly left waiting for more when LeFou’s sexuality was “confirmed” in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it dance scene.
When asked if the upcoming spin-off will take time to delve into LeFou’s coming out journey on the Just for Variety podcast, Gad said his character’s origin story is “unbelievably exciting”.
He teased: “You’re going to have to tune in when this show airs to see what we’re working up, but in the process of working on it, we’re asking ourselves every relevant question about these character and endeavouring to do right by them and by this world,.
“I think that we have origin stories here that are unbelievably exciting because they’re unexpected. And I think ‘expect the unexpected’ is all I can really say. And not just with regard to LeFou and Gaston but to a lot of the new characters that we’re introducing.”
