We may still be a ways away from seeing the Beauty and the Beast prequel series centered on Luke Evans’ Gaston and Josh Gad’s LeFou but now, thanks to legendary composer Alan Menken, it appears we may know the title of the Disney+ project. (Via Collider)
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In an interview with Variety, in which the recently crowned EGOT winner confirmed he’s still working on the long-in-development Enchanted sequel, Menken stated he was currently working on the music for the Beast prequel project, which he called “The Little Town.” Whether this ends up being the official title or not, it proves to be a nice ode to the opening number in all musical adaptations of the story, “Belle,” in which the heroine sings about her home village, the song having been penned by Oscar winner Howard Ashman, who passed away just prior to the release of the original film and is the subject of a new Disney+ documentary set to premiere next week.
The series, which is being penned by Once Upon a Time creators Eddy Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, will be a six-episode limited series musical event with composer Alan Menken also in talks to return to craft music for the series. The project is currently in early development, with no other stars currently attached, but sources are reporting that there is a possibility they could appear in guest spots.
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Horowitz and Kitsis are going to partner with Gad to serve as showrunners on the series, with the trio writing all six scripts and executive producing alongside Evans, while ABC Signature Studios is funding the project.
This prequel series will mark the second extension from a live-action Disney remake for the streaming service as a spin-off film focusing on Billy Magnussen’s Prince Anders from last year’s Aladdin is currently in development, while reboots of The Mighty Ducks and Tucker and Hooch are also in development.
Beauty and the Beast starred Emma Watson as Belle; Dan Stevens as the Beast; Luke Evans as Gaston, the handsome, but shallow villager who woos Belle; Oscar winner Kevin Kline as Maurice, Belle’s eccentric, but lovable father; and Josh Gad as Lefou, Gaston’s long-suffering aide-de-camp. The film also featured Ewan McGregor as Lumière, Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Plumette, Ian McKellen as Cogsworth, Stanley Tucci as Cadenza, Audra McDonald as Garderobe and Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts.
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Bill Condon’s Beauty and the Beast hit theaters in March 2017 to generally positive reviews from critics and audiences, who praised the visual effects and faithfulness to the original while also receiving some criticisms for its lack of doing anything new with the material. It went on to be a major box office success, grossing over $1.25 billion worldwide on a production budget estimated between $160-255 million.
