Jordan Karlesson
Beauty and the Beast hero and Afghan war vet Sebastian is ready to rise from the sewers of New York once again.
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Last week, Variety reported Martin Short and Shania Twain has joined the ABC special, Short probably wasn’t offended by he role he won. And, at 72, his good looks don’t exactly qualify as “beautiful”
The program is titled Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration. R&B singer/songwriter H.E.R. will play Princess Belle in the special, which is a new celebration of the Disney classic that will air December 15 and then stream on Disney+ starting December 16, Rolling Stone reports.
Female love interest Linda Hamilton, who played 46 episodes in Beauty and the Beast, is among cast members of yesteryear returning for the 30h anniversary celebration. Most viewers will recognize her as the mother of John Connor in the Terminator franchise.
Two months ago, Disney announced its new belle: Recently, ABC roping in more high-profile talent to guarantee the project would be a star-studded affair.
The special, which Jon M. Chu (director of Wicked and In the Heights) is executive producing, will reportedly mix animated and live-action footage taped in front of a studio audience. Hamish Hamilton, who previously directed concert films by U2, Beyoncé and other major musical artists (aside from H.E.R.), is sitting in the director’s chair for the anniversary project.
Beauty and the Beasts … and the Deets
The 30th Celebration, will air on the Disney classic air December 15 and then stream on Disney+ starting December 16, Rolling Stone reports.
Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration will also blend classic scenes from the timeless fairy tale with newly crafted live performances — so Hamish Hamilton’s skills will come in extra handy. The program will also feature new sets and costumes, according to Rolling Stone,
The new Beauty and the Beast aspires to achieve the success of the original, which ran from September 1997 to August 2000.
Beauty and the Beast’s ratings continued to drop with each progressive season, until it finally ended.
But if it’s even half as good as Neflix’s Dark Crystal prequel, you’ll want to strap up your sandals and excavate some of those stones that tern creatures into stone.
