What We Know About ‘Little Town,’ the Disney+ ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Prequel

The tale as old as time lives on. In March, fans of the classic fairytale Beauty and the Beast were thrilled to hear that Disney+ was working on a prequel of the 2017 live action film. Since the project was first revealed months ago, it’s been kept top-secret, but we got a small morsel of information today from composer Alan Menken.

In an interview with Variety July 29 after his Daytime Emmy win, Menken — who has now officially earned the EGOT title — let slip the name of the upcoming series, which is described as “a new Beauty and the Beast prequel.” When Variety asked about his upcoming projects, Menken mentioned Little Town, revealing the title of the Disney+ fairytale project.

Thanks to Menken, we finally have a name for the highly-anticipated series. Here’s everything we else know so far about the upcoming Disney+ feature.

WHAT DOES THE LITTLE TOWN TITLE MEAN?

The name Little Town likely comes from “Belle,” the opening song in Beauty and the Beast, as Collider points out. The lyrics include the lines “Little town, It’s a quiet village, Every day, Like the one before, Little town, Full of little people, Waking up to say.”

Watch Emma Watson sing the full song from the 2017 film in the video below.

WHO IS IN THE DISNEY+ BEAUTY AND THE BEAST PREQUEL?

While we don’t have a full list of the cast, we do have two big names confirmed to appear in Little Town. Both Luke Evans and Josh Gad are returning to reprise their roles from the 2017 live action film. Evans will return to his role as Gaston, the arrogant and greedy hunter determined to have Belle all to himself. Gad will play LeFou, Gaston’s loyal sidekick. Neither Watson nor Dan Stevens, who starred as the Beast in the Disney film, are expected to return for Little Town. 

WHEN DOES THE DISNEY+ BEAUTY AND THE BEAST PREQUEL PREMIERE?

Little Town does not have a release date yet, but it’s likely that whatever tentative premiere the series set was pushed back by the coronavirus pandemic. Since the Beauty and the Beast prequel hasn’t begun production yet, we don’t expect to see it hit streaming any time soon.

WHAT IS THE DISNEY+ BEAUTY AND THE BEAST PREQUEL ABOUT?

Disney+ hasn’t released any official information about the Little Town plot, but we know it will be a musical like the 2017 film and that it will feature the story’s two main antagonists, Gaston (Evans) and LeFou (Gad).

HOW TO WATCH BEAUTY AND THE BEAST:

The 2017 Beauty and the Beast film was a hit at the box office, grossing $1 billion in total. If you weren’t one of the moviegoers who caught it in theaters, or if you just want to relive the magic at home, it’s easy to stream Beauty and the Beast. The film is currently available to watch on digital platforms like Prime Video, iTunes and Vudu. While it’s not streaming on Disney+ just yet, it will be available to watch on the streaming service starting Aug. 21.

Where to watch Beauty and the Beast