'Beauty and the Beast': What Comes Next?

Can you just imagine it? The butterflies, the excitement, the 'It's finally here!' moment. That was how Disney fans who awaited the long-anticipated, live-action 'Beauty and the Beast' film felt past weekends. Who isn't familiar with the Walt Disney classic? The tale of the bright, beautiful, misunderstood young girl was a staple in the childhood of many of millennials in the early 90's, and now it's become a colorful, wonderful live-action movie.

'What Walt Disney did with all these animated classics was that he took these tales that he knew were timeless and he reinvented them' says Sean Bailey, president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production. 'So we thought, Well, we can reapproach these stories with the very best talent and the very best technology available, and we can try to make them reflect the world around us a little more'

The film stuck to its roots with songs from the original, and who could forget that gorgeous yellow dress? It's the dress that had little girls spinning around as if the Beast himself were guiding them across the castle floor, and was a Halloween costume for many at some point or another.

With a cast worthy of royalty, it's not difficult to see how the characters were so true to the originals. Luke Evans is Gaston to a T. The actor manages to perfectly encompass the narcissistic, egocentric man we love to hate. Actress Emma Watson brought Belle to life and even brought her own twist to the character. 'My Belle is very practical', Watson says in an interview with Enews. She is more than practical!

In an interview for Entertainment Weekly (March 2017), Luke Evans says Gaston was a Captain and at the age of 16 he protected the village of Villeneuve from Portuguese marauders in 1740

In Disney's live-action 'Beauty and the Beast', Belle is not only intelligent and headstrong, but she is also a female role model, teaching a young girl to read in one of the scenes and being a bit more independent and innovative than the original. The movie brought in a stifling $ 170 million on its opening weekend according to Business Insider. This was even more than what was predicted. That sets new records for the month of March, and it is likely to set more records in the future. This is great news for Disney and fans who just can't get enough of the Disney classics.

Emma Watson and Bill Condon on the set of 'Beauty and the Beast'

With all the success, a sequel or spinoff has got to be in the making, right? Not exactly. In a recent interview with Deadline, Sean Bailey, a leader in the production of Walt Disney Motion Pictures, clarified that there is no sequel in the making right now. This may in some part be owed to the latest sequel from Walt Disney Motion Pictures, 'Alice Through the Looking Glass', which turned out to be a total disaster. That does not mean that ideas are not being thrown around for a prequel or spinoff, but nothing is in the works at this time. However, it is a high possibility that more live-action Disney classics may be waiting on the horizon. With movies like 'Cinderella', 'Sleeping Beauty', 'Fantasia', and much more, there are plenty of new fresh options to explore before a sequel, spinoff, or prequel needs to take place.

Alan Menken, Dan Stevens, and Sean Bailey arrive for the world premiere of Disney’s live-action 'Beauty and the Beast' at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood

So, Disney fans, fix your popcorn and get ready to relive those childhood fantasies of being a princess, because 'The Little Mermaid' is already next on the list of Disney classics to be brought to life, and there are still plenty more to come! With the earnings of 'Beauty and the Beast' surpassing predictions just on its opening weekend, nothing is off the table.