Playing the ultra-narcissistic Gaston, a character that oozed toxic masculinity, was a tall order for Luke Evans as he starred in the 2017 live-action adaptation of Disney's Beauty and the Beast.
For one, Evans had to make the character somewhat funny and likable, which is much easier in animated films than in live-action projects. Furthermore, the 2017 live-action film from Disney took a much more modern, feminist, and supposedly queer-inclusive approach to the story, which made Gaston an even more problematic character.
As audiences watched the movie, though, it was clear that Evans had understood the assignment… so much so that Disney greenlit a Gaston-centered prequel series entitled Little Town to stream on Disney+ (a story originally reported by The Hollywood Reporter).
But when asked about the Beauty and the Beast prequel series, Out's latest cover star shared that the Little Town prequel show is "sadly… not on the table" at this time, leading many of us to question if the project will never actually see the light of day.
Josh Gad and Luke Evans in 2017's live-action 'Beauty and the Beast' film.
Walt Disney Pictures
Evans made headlines with the announcement of his lead role in a Gaston-themed prequel series for Disney+ back in August 2020. Around February 2022, though, Deadline reported that the prequel was "not going forward," and a few conflicting statements had fans questioning if the show was indeed, actually canceled altogether.
A few months after that Deadline report, for instance, Evans stated that the prequel series was still happening, which contradicted the earlier report.
"It's been put on hold. We just wanna make sure that it is absolutely the best it can be, and if that means we just have to wait a little longer to finesse certain pieces of it, then that's what we're going to do because this is a very important legacy," Evans told Entertainment Weekly in September 2022. "It's just on hold. It is gonna happen. We're very excited about it. At some point in the near future, it will happen."
Unfortunately, Evans' latest update as the cover star of Out's September/October print issue feels much more definitive, and like the actor has now accepted that the prequel won't happen.
We were really excited to see the Gaston return in Little Town, and hoped that Josh Gad's queer version of LeFou would be an integral part of it, but it now looks like it's an no from Disney, dawg.
Read Luke's full cover story, which is part of Out's September/October print issue that hits newsstands on August 28. Beauty and the Beast (2017) is streaming on Disney+.
