In the wake of the box office success of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, which grossed $1.264 billion earlier this year, Disney executive Sean Bailey revealed that while a sequel had been ruled out, the studio would be exploring “possible spinoff and prequel scenarios”.

Well, it seems the original plan was for the live-action movie to set up one such sequel, as revealed by screenwriter Evan Spiliotopoulos during a conversation with The Wrap:

“The idea was not that he died in the end, but the enchantress would come and he would be cursed as the new beast… [he would] run off into the world as the new beast, whether to be redeemed or come back as a villain.”

According to Spiliotopoulos, Disney made an “eleventh hour” decision to go with the traditional ending, seemingly putting an end to those particular spinoff plans.

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Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” is a live-action re-telling of the studio’s animated classic which refashions the classic characters from the tale as old as time for a contemporary audience, staying true to the original music while updating the score with several new songs. “Beauty and the Beast” is the fantastic journey of Belle, a bright, beautiful and independent young woman who is taken prisoner by a beast in his castle. Despite her fears, she befriends the castle’s enchanted staff and learns to look beyond the Beast’s hideous exterior and realize the kind heart and soul of the true Prince within.

Beauty and the Beast is directed by Bill Condon and sees Emma Watson as Belle alongside Dan Stevens as Beast, while the cast also includes Ewan McGregor as Lumiere, Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts, Luke Evans as Gaston, Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Plumette, Stanley Tucci as Cadenza, Ian McKellen as Cogsworth, Kevin Kline as Maurice, Josh Gad as Le Fou and Audra McDonald as Garderobe.