Dan Stevens says he’s “open to offers” should Disney decide to make a sequel to its blockbuster live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. The movie musical – adapted from Disney’s animated classic from 1991 – has been a major success, shattering domestic box office records.
Its $350 million opening was just the start, with the film recently crossing the $1 billion mark, making it likely studio executives are at least thinking about some sort of follow-up. And while Disney currently isn’t pushing for a sequel (the studio’s head of production, Sean Bailey, says at best a prequel or spinoff is possible), some of its stars look to be game.
Dan Stevens, who played the titular Beast in the film, told Variety that he’d be interested in more of the role if the opportunity arose:
As unlikely as a sequel to Beauty and the Beast sounds, if it did happen, it would likely take years for it to come to fruition. Right now, Disney has its hands full with adapting several of its other animated classics into live-action films, including Jon Favreau’s remake of The Lion King and Tim Burton’s update of Dumbo. And as both those film head into production this spring, Disney has the live-action versions of Mulan in works from director Niki Caro, as well as Aladdin with Guy Ritchie at the helm, soon after that. Casting is starting to come together for the latter, with Will Smith in talks to play Genie.
“That’s not a question for me. I’m not sure what turn that would take. I’m open to offers. It would seem odd for me to hear about it, but never say never.”
Chiming with the suggestion of a prequel or spinoff over a straight sequel, the actor further said that he’d “kind of like to bring the Beast back” as opposed to playing the role as a human. No matter which direction Disney goes with Beauty and the Beast (if any), it’s exciting to hear that the charismatic Stevens would like to reprise his role as Beast. He was a widely-cited highlight of the film, with his new song “Evermore” a fan favorite of the musical additions.
Of course, if he were to play the monstrous-looking creature, it would likely be chronicling his lonely time from when the spell was cast on him until the moment Belle (Emma Watson) entered his life. And while the creatives at Disney surely could come up with an interesting storyline to fill up the void in the story not fleshed out in Beauty and the Beast, it’s hard to gauge whether fans would respond en masse to something akin to a straight-to-video sequel in the way they embraced the original and its live-action counterpart.
Source: Variety
