As the release date for Disney’s live-action remake of the Oscar-nominated animated classic Beauty and the Beast draws near, we have been treated to a number of trailers and TV spots showing off both the story and musical numbers from the hotly-anticipated film. Now, director Bill Condon has revealed in an interview with Attitude that this telling of the tale as old as time will also feature a gay character, specifically Josh Gad’s Le Fou.
Condon stated “Le Fou is somebody who on one day wants to be Gaston and on another day wants to kiss Gaston. He’s confused about what he wants. It’s somebody who’s just realizing that he has these feelings. And Josh makes something really subtle and delicious out of it. And that’s what has its pay-off at the end, which I don’t want to give away. But it is a nice, exclusively gay moment in a Disney movie.”
Yesterday, a new clip was posted online that actually features Le Fou singing, which you can watch here.
Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” is a live-action re-telling of the studio’s animated classic which refashions the classic characters from the tale as old as time for a contemporary audience, staying true to the original music while updating the score with several new songs. “Beauty and the Beast” is the fantastic journey of Belle, a bright, beautiful and independent young woman who is taken prisoner by a beast in his castle. Despite her fears, she befriends the castle’s enchanted staff and learns to look beyond the Beast’s hideous exterior and realize the kind heart and soul of the true Prince within.
Beauty and the Beast is directed by Bill Condon (Dreamgirls) and sees Emma Watson as Belle alongside Dan Stevens as Beast, while the cast also includes Ewan McGregor as Lumiere, Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts, Luke Evans as Gaston, Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Plumette, Stanley Tucci as Cadenza, Ian McKellen as Cogsworth, Kevin Kline as Maurice, Josh Gad as Le Fou and Audra McDonald as Garderobe. The film is set for release on March 17th, 2017.
Originally published March 1, 2017. Updated November 30, 2022.
