News Beat
Fans confused as Disney set to develop new live-action Gaston film: ‘Genuinely who cares?’
Disney is reportedly developing a live-action feature centred on Gaston, the swaggering villain from Beauty and the Beast, as the studio continues to mine its animated catalogue for character-led spin-offs.
The project is in early development, with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings writer Dave Callaham attached to write the screenplay and Michelle Rejwan set to produce, according to Deadline. A previous draft was written by Kate Herron and Briony Redman.
Plot details have not been disclosed, except that the spinoff will have “swashbuckling” tones.
Gaston was first introduced as the primary antagonist in Disney’s 1991 animated classic, portrayed as a vainglorious hunter obsessed with Belle and threatened by the Beast. The animated film was based on an 18th-century French fairy tale and followed Belle, a book-loving young woman who becomes imprisoned in the castle of a prince cursed to live as a Beast, and gradually comes to see his humanity beneath his appearance.
Gaston, voiced by Richard White, is introduced as the film’s primary antagonist and was a celebrated hunter whose arrogance and entitlement turn into violence after Belle rejects his marriage proposal.
He then appeared in the 2017 live-action remake, where he was played by Luke Evans, opposite Emma Watson as Belle and Dan Stevens as the Beast.
The film went on to become a box-office hit, earning more that $1.26bn worldwide. The film also received a pair of Oscar nods in 2018, for costume design and production design.
Originally, the film didn’t intend to kill Gaston off but leave an opening for a sequel. Screenwriter Evan Spiliotopoulos told The Wrap in 2017 that the “idea was not that he died in the end, but the enchantress would come and he would be cursed as the new beast”. However, the studio decided in the “eleventh hour” to stick with the more traditional story that saw Gaston fall from a bridge to his presumed death.
It is unclear if and how the Gaston live-action will tie into the previous film adaptation, and this project appears to be separate from the now-cancelled Gaston-LeFou prequel series, which was going to see Evans and Josh Gad, as Gaston’s sidekick LeFou, reprise their roles.
News of the spinoff has led to confused reactions from fans.
“Is he misunderstood too? C’mon man not all villains need a backstory, just let ‘em be a*******,” wrote one person on X.
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“Genuinely who cares about Gaston enough for anyone to want this?” asked another.
“No one caaaares about Gaston. Come on. He isn’t interesting outside of the main story. If you’re going to give us a live action spin off, how about Ariel and Eric going on adventures? Or Belle and Adam (AS A HUMAN FOR ONCE)? Jasmine and Aladdin ruling their kingdom!” wrote another.
The news of the Gaston live-action spinoff follows Disney’s long-running effort to rework its animated back catalogue through live-action remakes and spin-offs, a strategy that has delivered uneven but sometimes substantial returns.
Snow White (2025), starring Rachel Zegler as Snow White and Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen, struggled commercially, but other adaptations like 2019’s The Lion King and Aladdin went on to make over $1bn worldwide. Villain-focused reimaginings, the first being 2014’s Maleficent with Angelina Jolie in the titular role, and 2021’s Cruella, played by Emma Stone, were also well received by the audience.
