Luke Evans to star in ‘Beauty and the Beast’ spin-off series
The six-part Disney+ series will follow the adventures of Gaston (Evans) and sidekick LeFou (Josh Gad).
By Will Stroude
It’s been a busy year for Luke Evans: After releasing his debut album At Last at the end of 2019 and finding himself cast in a new serial killer drama from the makers of hit shows Line of Duty and Bodyguard, the Hollywood heartthrob is set to front this own Beauty and the Beast TV spin-off.
Set to air on Disney+, the six-episode series will see Evans, 41, reprise his role as fairytale trade Gaston from Disney’s live action remake of the animated classic, Variety reports.
He’ll star opposite Josh Gad, aka Gaston’s comedy sidekick LeFou, who you might remember as the character responsible for Disney’s first foray towards better LGBTQ representation afte he was briefly dancing with a male love interest during the film.
“Josh and I have read two or three episodes now. We’ve heard some of the new songs written by Mr. [Alan] Menken himself”, Evans told Variety of the series, which is still some months away from going into prodution.
“We are so excited about this. It’s going to be a joy to work with Josh again. Me and Josh have chemistry. As friends we had it, and luckily it transferred to the screen and people got it.”
Evans continues: “It’s going to be a joy to bring to life a new story that no one knows. It’s all come together very nicely, rather quickly actually, and hopefully production will start sometime next year.”
Asked whether fans might be able to expect any appearances from fellow stars of Beauty and the Beast, which boasted a cast including Harry Potter’s Emma Watson and Downton Abbey’‘s Dan Steven, Evans replied teasingly: “Oh, my God. I mean a smorgasbord of cameos — can you imagine? [Laughs] You never know who will pop up on this show.”