More D23 news.
Last year, Disney greenlit a live-action spinoff that absolutely nobody asked for: the story of Gaston, the villain of 1991’s “Beauty and the Beast,” the ridiculously handsome, muscle-bound human embodiment of a hair-gel commercial gone rogue.
Now we’re hearing from scooper MyTimeToShineHello, not to mention TheInSneider, and a host of others, that none other than Glen Powell is going to play Gaston in the live-action prequel. Good grief — what is Powell thinking?
Powell, 37, is everywhere these days. His success in “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Anyone But You,” “Hit Man,” and “Twisters” opened many doors for him, and then he hit a wall with Edgar Wright’s “The Running Man” and this year’s A24-backed “How to Make a Killing,” not to mention the Hulu series “Chad Powers,” which is probably how he got the Disney gig, and J.J. Abrams’ “The Great Beyond,” which hasn’t tested well and was recently delayed until next year. Then there’s another movie he’s already shot, “The Comeback King,” coming in February and directed by Judd Apatow, in which Powell plays a has-been country singer. It’s a comedy.
What’s truly perplexing is how a rising talent like Powell, whose star had been steadily ascending thanks to smart film choices, would attach himself to a live-action Disney spinoff. With momentum on his side, he had the luxury of cherry-picking better roles in films. Instead, Powell’s involvement seems like a baffling detour.
Gaston was in Disney’s 2017 live-action “Beauty and the Beast,” directed by Bill Condon — he was played by Luke Evans and largely stayed true to the original 1991 animated version: arrogant, self-delusional, and obsessed with Belle. That film ended up grossing over $1.26 billion worldwide.
Dave Callaham (“Shang-Chi”) is writing the script, which is being described as a “swashbuckling” affair. No director is attached at this time. Kate Herron and Briony Redman penned a previous draft.
Disney currently has “Tangled,” “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” “The Aristocats,” “The Sword in the Stone,” “Bambi,” “Robin Hood,” and “Hercules” in some form of development. Those are the ones we know of. Honest question: What was the last good Disney live-action remake? Jon Favreau’s “The Jungle Book,” released way back in 2016?
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