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"We are devastated."
Disney+ has put its "Beauty & the Beast" prequel series revolving around Gaston and LeFou on the back burner, due to creative differences and talent availability.
Both Luke Evans and Josh Gad were signed onto the eight-episode limited series, which, like the film it was to be spun off from, would also be a musical. Both Alan Menken and Glenn Slater ("Tangled") were on board as well for the music.
On Thursday, however, the two stars confirmed that production on the show had been halted indefinitely -- both sharing a link to The Wrap's writeup on the situation.
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View Story"Sadly, 'Tis true. We tried to make it all work but under the gun it wasn’t meant to be… for now," they both wrote "These characters and this story will live on, but sometimes the best intentions & reality collide & nothing can be done."
"This is a very sad message for us to tweet. We are devastated. Goodbye, for now, from Gaston and Le fou," added Evans in his own tweet, while Gad also said they "truly hope we get to make it when our schedules allow."
Gad also retweeted his costar's message and joked, "Maybe I'll come out to Columbia and we can drink together and just shoot footage of us drunk in Bogotá singing Alan Menken's new songs."
Set "years before" the movie, the series would have followed the two and LeFou's step-sister Tilly as an "unlikely trio" going on "an unexpected journey filled with romance, comedy, and adventure" after a "surprising revelation from [Tilly's] past comes to light." Added Disney+ back in June 2021, "While the mysteries of the past are uncovered and the dangers of the present grow, old friends and new enemies reveal that this familiar kingdom harbors many secrets."
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View StoryAccording to Deadline, the scripts and original songs weren't coming together and pushing production to the fall -- after already delaying the start from spring to summer -- just wasn't possible due to "talent availability and weather concerns."
As Gad and Evans indicated, Disney+ still hopes the series will get made, so it hasn't been scrapped altogether.
The news comes shortly after Jelani Alladin and Rita Ora joined the cast in the past month. Alladin tweeted about the production pause on Thursday.
"This is show business. This is also the reason you can’t let it make or break you. I am so grateful that @joshgad and @disneyplus were willing to take a chance on me," he tweeted. "There are more stories to be told and I look forward to telling them to you."
