Disney's new reported live-action movie adaptation reimagines another classic animated story with a villain as its protagonist, raising some interesting questions about how the film may adjust the decades-old tale going forward. As a franchise that's been around for close to a century now, Disney has an immense wealth of beloved and recognizable stories behind it, which have frequently been reinvented for the modern age.
With this in mind, it's commonplace to hear of classic Disney movie stories being given live-action remakes, with plenty having been released in the past few years. As such, the news of one of the next live-action Disney movie adaptations isn't a surprise itself, though the character it's centered on may prove a plot twist of sorts to some.
New Reports State A Live-Action Gaston Movie Is In Early Development
Years after efforts to make a Gaston spinoff of the live-action Beauty and the Beast movie fell by the wayside, Deadline has reported that a movie focused Gaston is now in the early development phase.
This is in line with the franchise's current penchant for reimagining beloved animated Disney movies in a live-action format – an approach that has brought some considerable box office successes, including 2025's $1 billion box office results for Lilo & Stitch.
That said, since Beauty and the Beast was adapted in this way in 2017, it's understandable if the concept of Gaston getting his own story was low on many lists, given the time that has passed could previously have made it appear as though Disney had finished reimagining this particular corner of its history.
A Live-Action Gaston Movie Would Continue Disney's Villain Redemption Story Trend
Though news that a Gaston movie is reportedly in development may come as a surprise to some, this decision makes even more sense given Disney's more recent history has seen the franchise revamp the stories of classic villains in order to show them as antiheroes or heroes, which seems as though it may be the case for the Gaston project.
Cruella and the 2014 and 2019 Maleficent movies explore this territory most directly – making the titular characters into protagonists and showing their origin stories of sorts – but the franchise has a broader track record of exploring what makes someone a villain, and how people can be unfairly misconstrued as such, as can be seen in big hits like Zootopia and Zootopia 2, Wreck-It Ralph, and Encanto.
While Gaston is depicted in an unpleasant light in Beauty and the Beast, it's easy to see how a live-action movie could reimagine the character in a way wherein he's more of a relatable protagonist – especially since his efforts in the original Disney movie can at least partially be explained by a lack of awareness of the Beast's true nature. However, only time will tell how the project chooses to retell this particular tale.
