Rita Ora Joins the Cast of Disney+ BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Prequel Series
British pop star Rita Ora is joining Disney+’s Beauty and the Beast prequel series. The singer will play “a fugitive with surprising abilities who carries with her a secret that could potentially affect an entire kingdom in the eight-episode limited musical series.”
She joins the previously cast actors Luke Evans and Josh Gad, who are reprising their roles as Gaston and LeFou from the Beauty and the Beast live-action film. Briana Middleton, Fra Fee, and Jelani Alladin are also starring in the series.
Here’s the rundown:
“Set in the iconic kingdom of Beauty and the Beast years before the Beast and Belle’s epic romance, the series will follow Gaston (Evans) and LeFou (Gad) as they set off with LeFou’s step-sister, Tilly (Middleton), after a surprising revelation from her past comes to light, sending the unlikely trio off on an unexpected journey filled with romance, comedy, and adventure. While the mysteries of the past are uncovered and the dangers of the present grow, old friends and new enemies reveal that this familiar kingdom harbors many secrets.”
The prequel series was developed and written by Gad and Once Upon a Time creators Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, with the trio serving as executive producers/co-showrunners. Tony Award-nominated director Liesl Tommy (Eclipsed) will direct the first episode. EGOT Award-winning composer Alan Menken, who scored both the 1991 and 2017 Beauty and the Beast movies, is writing the soundtrack of the series, with lyrics for the first episode by Oscar-nominee Glenn Slater (Tangled). Tommy, Menken and Evans are also executive producing.
Production on Beauty and the Beast will begin in spring 2022.
via: Deadline
