When the live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast hits screens March 17, it will make history as the first Disney film to include an “exclusively gay moment,” according to the film’s director, Bill Condon.
Condon revealed the landmark news in an exclusive interview with Attitude Magazine.
The subplot involves the relationship between LeFou (played by Tony Award nominee Josh Gad) and Gaston (played by Luke Evans). While Gaston has his sights set on wooing Belle, his devoted sidekick LeFou is experiencing his own personal struggle.
“He’s confused about what he wants,” Condon says. “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.”
READ: WHERE ARE THE STARS OF DISNEY’S BEAUTY AND THE BEAST NOW?
The live-action film has a screenplay by Condon, Evan Spiliotopoulos, and Stephen Chbosky.
Beauty and the Beast features music by Alan Menken and lyrics by the late Howard Ashman.
Ashman, who was openly gay, died of complications from AIDS eight months prior to the theatrical release of Beauty and the Beast in 1991. The animated film was dedicated in his honor. When the song “Beauty and the Beast” won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1992, it was Ashman’s partner, Bill Lauch, who accepted the award on his behalf—a landmark moment in Oscar history.
Watch the speech below:
Beauty and the Beast stars Emma Watson as Belle; Dan Stevens as the Beast; Kevin Kline as Maurice, Belle’s father; Ewan McGregor as Lumière, the candelabra; Ian McKellen as Cogsworth, the mantel clock; Emma Thompson as the teapot, Mrs. Potts; Audra McDonald as Madame De Garderobe, the wardrobe; Stanley Tucci as Maestro Cadenza, the harpsichord; Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Plumette, the feather duster; Hattie Morahan as the enchantress; and Nathan Mack as Chip, the teacup.
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