Apparently, no one fights like Gaston behind the scenes too. The upcoming Disney+ Beauty and the Beast spinoff show starring Luke Evans and Josh Gad as Gaston and LeFou has been put on hold due to delays regarding “creative elements and scheduling challenges.”
That’s according to the Hollywood Reporter, which first broke the story. Apparently, Disney still hopes to make the show; it’s just not happening right now. “Sadly, ‘Tis true,” Josh Gad confirmed on Twitter. “We tried to make it all work but under the gun it wasn’t meant to be… for now. These characters and this story will live on, but sometimes the best intentions & reality collide & nothing can be done.”
So what’s this all mean? Well, apparently, production was eyeing up a springtime shoot in Europe — but then, in hopes of getting even better weather, delayed to summer. Even with the delay though the show was still likely to struggle to be ready, and members of the cast began to run into scheduling conflicts with other projects. At which point, instead of pushing ahead and rolling the dice, Disney just stopped it. “But… we truly hope we get to make it when our schedules allow,” Gad added.
“This is a very sad message for us to tweet. We are devastated. Goodbye, for now, from Gaston and Le fou,” Luke Evans tweeted.
What’s most surprising about this isn’t that mother nature and the schedule had other plans for this show. It’s that it happened so quickly. Don’t forget, three days ago Gad was welcoming new cast member Rita Ora to the show. That means just three days ago, everyone involved was full steam ahead. And now, they aren’t.
Ora would have joined Hawkeye’s Fra Fee and Tick Tick Boom’s Jelani Alladin in the cast. But now, with the uncertain timeline, there’s a chance all of those roles, or at least some, will have to be recast. We were really curious about this one — but it’s definitely best not to rush something out before it’s ready.