‘Beauty and the Beast’ Prequel Series Delayed at Disney Plus

Joe Otterson TV ReporterBaseball legend David “Big Papi” Ortiz is taking a journey through baseball history in his new ESPN Plus series “Big Papi’s Places.”Ortiz hosts the sports series, the latest expansion of the football-centric ESPN Plus series “Peyton’s Places,” with the first episode now available to stream.In an exclusive clip (see below), Ortiz and “Peyton’s Places” host Peyton Manning meet up, with Manning offering Ortiz a chance to host his own show. Of course, there are qualifications.

Disney really has a spotty history over the past several years with promising LGBTQ+ inclusion in blockbuster films but not really delivering that. We’ve seen characters teased.

Josh Gad is speaking out about his character in Beauty and the Beast.

There was much controversy ahead of the 2017 release of Disney’s live-action “Beauty and the Beast” when director Bill Condon teased an “exclusively gay moment” involving one of the film’s characters.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“This Is Us” star Lyric Ross has signed on for a role in the upcoming Marvel series “Ironheart,” Variety has confirmed with sources.Ross joins previously announced cast members Dominique Thorne and Anthony Ramos. As previously reported, The show follows Marvel character Riri Williams (Thorne), a genius inventor and the creator of the most advanced suit of armor since Iron Man. Ross is believed to be playing Williams’ best friend.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterAn “Outlander” prequel series is in development at Starz, Variety has learned exclusively.According to sources, “Outlander” executive producer and showrunner Matthew B. Roberts is attached to write and executive produce the prequel. A writers’ room is currently being assembled with an eye to begin work in the coming weeks.Exact plot details for what the prequel would focus on are being kept under wraps.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterBoat Rocker Studios and Shamier Anderson and Stephan James’ Bay Mills Studios are teaming to co-produce a limited series about the life of Jean-Michel Basquiat.James is attached to star in the untitled series, which would be set in 1980s New York City. It will showcase the rise of Basquiat, from an obscure graffiti artist to a Neo-expressionist painter of rockstar status. It will also explore Basquiat’s close friendship with Andy Warhol and his ultimate demise.“We’re grateful to be working with Shamier, Stephan, and the entire Bay Mills Studios team to tell the story of a visionary artist whose profound cultural influence only continues to grow with time,” said Steve Lescroart, president of scripted for Boat Rocker Studios.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterMelissa Benoist could soon be returning to the Berlanti-verse.Variety has confirmed with sources that Benoist is in talks to star in the series “Girls on the Bus” at HBO Max, which is executive produced by Greg Berlanti. Berlanti previously executive produced The CW series “Supergirl,” which starred Benoist in the title role.Reps for HBO Max and Warner Bros. Television declined to comment.It was announced on Thursday that “Girls on the Bus” has received a straight-to-series order at HBO Max after previously having been set up at The CW and Netflix.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterJulie Plec and Amy Chozick’s “The Girls on the Bus” is on the move again, this time to HBO Max.The streamer has given the drama series a straight-to-series order. It was most recently set up at The CW for development, having moved to the broadcaster from Netflix. Netflix had originally given the show a series order back in 2019, but it was previously reported that they had dropped the show after the pandemic pushed back the start of production.“The Girls on the Bus” is inspired by a chapter in Chozick’s book “Chasing Hillary.” The show is described as a comedic character-driven drama that chronicles four female journalists who follow every move of a parade of flawed presidential candidates, while finding friendship, love, and scandal along the way.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterParamount Plus is mining even more Nickelodeon content to fill out its content slate.The streamer announced a slew of new projects that will be produced by Nickelodeon and Nickelodeon Animation as part of the ViacomCBS investor day presentation on Feb. 15.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterA “Sonic the Hedgehog” series about Knuckles is in the works at Paramount Plus.The announcement was made as part of the ViacomCBS (now Paramount) investor day presentation.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterRay Stevenson has been cast in the upcoming Disney Plus “Star Wars” series “Ahsoka,” Variety has confirmed with sources.He joins previously announced series lead Rosario Dawson, who will star as Ahsoka Tano, as well as cast members Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Natasha Liu Bordizz, and Ivanna Sakhno.Details on who Stevenson will be playing in the series are being kept under wraps, but it is believed that he will be playing a villain in the series, thought not the main villain, Grand Admiral Thrawn.Reps for Lucasfilm did not immediately respond to Variety’s request for comment.This is not the first time Stevenson has been a part of the “Star Wars” universe. He previously lent his voice to the two animated series “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” and “Star Wars Rebels” as the character Gar Saxon, a Mandalorian commando.

“This is a very sad message for us to tweet. We are devastated. Goodbye, for now, from Gaston and Le fou,” Luke Evans wrote on Twitter shortly after reports surfaced that Disney+ cancelled the “Beauty and the Beast” prequel series, “The Little Town”, it had been working on.

Luke Evans wrote on Twitter shortly after reports surfaced that Disney+ canceled the prequel series, , it had been working on. Evans, who played Gaston in the live-action film, was set to reprise his role alongside Josh Gad as LeFou in an eight-episode musical series written and produced by creators Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis. This is a very sad message for us to tweet. We are devastated.

Disney+ has announced that the Beauty and the Beast prequel series is on hold.

Disney+’s Beauty and the Beast prequel series will not be moving forward at this time. The decision comes as the lead cast of the eight-episode series had been assembled ahead of the planned summer 2022 shoot in the U.K.

Rita Ora has landed a role in Disney+’s Beauty and the Beast prequel series!

British pop star Rita Ora is joining Disney+’s Beauty and the Beast prequel series.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeSinger/songwriter Rita Ora has joined the cast of Disney Plus’ upcoming ‘Beauty and The Beast’ prequel. The news was announced Monday during Disney Branded Television’s session at the Television Critics Association’s winter press tour. On the “Beauty and the Beast” (working title) prequel, Ora will star as “a fugitive with surprising abilities who carries with her a secret that could potentially affect an entire kingdom.” She joins a cast that includes Josh Gad, Luke Evans, Briana Middleton, Fra Fee and Jelani Alladin.Gad also serves as an executive producer and co-showrunner, along with Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz.