Disney’s Cruella Being Revised by Edge of Tomorrow Writer
Disney’s Cruella Being Revised by Edge of Tomorrow Writer
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Disney has been the foremost name in animation and children’s entertainment for over a century now. Over the past few years, live-action adaptations of classic Disney characters have been hitting the big screen, from Malificent and Cinderella to The Jungle Book (with such films as  Beauty and the Beast forthcoming).
The next Disney villain being brought to life in her own solo film is none other than Cruella de Vil. The Cruella movie is set to star Emma Stone as its namesake, with executive producer Glenn Close onboard to oversee the character that she previously made infamous in live-action form – and the project now has a new writer, too.
It’s been reported in the past that the Cruella solo film is in development, with an initial script draft written by Devil Wears Prada screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna. The pairing seems like a good fit, as Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly in Devil Wears Prada is worthy of comparison to Cruella herself. Screenwriter Kelly Marcel (Saving Mr. Banks) was the next screenwriter to work on the film after McKenna, and now (according to Tracking Board ) the script is being revised by Edge of Tomorrow and Spectre co-writer, Jez Butterworth.
Cruella de Vil has been one of the more prolific Disney villains, especially over the past two decades. Cruella is best known as the wicked bourgeoise that tries to catch the Dalmatian puppies in Disney’s 101 Dalmatians, so that she can skin them for their black and white spotted fur. The true origins of Cruella didn’t come from Disney, but rather from the mind of author Dottie Smith in her 1956 novel, The Hundred and One Dalmatians.
The first time we would see Cruella in her first animated form in the now Disney Classic 101 Dalmatians in 1961. The character was stripped down for the animated version, deleting both the husband and cat that she had in the Smith’s novel. The animated version of Cruella drove a sleek black and red car and sported black and white-toned hair, which would come to define the look the character. The cartoon would never get a sequel, like so many Disney films, but it did get an animated series in the 1990s, which was fueled by the first live-action film.
The 101 Dalmatians live-action film is the first time audiences got to revisit the villain since the original animated film. Cruella was brought to life masterfully by Glenn Close in 1996. Close adorned a stellar series of lavish costumes, complete with claw tipped gloves and necklaces made from teeth! The film would find a good amount of success and spawned a sequel film, 102 Dalmatians, in 2000.
Cruella would appear again in live-action form in the ABC television series Once Upon A Time , this time portrayed by Victoria Smurfit. She would become a major player on the series, alongside other legendary Disney villains, like The Little Mermaid‘s Ursula (Merrin Dungey), Snow White‘s The Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla) and Maleficent (Kristen Bauer van Straten) of Sleeping Beauty fame.
Emma Stone has big shoes to fill and a wicked role to play. Hopefully the switch in screenwriter is for the best and the film will be the better for it. Production on Cruella is expected to begin this October (according to Tracking Board’s report), so we should know more about the project in general pretty soon.