Hide your Dalmatians, asCruella 2will bring back Emma Stone as the iconic Disney villain. Stone has reportedly closed a deal to reprise her role in aCruellasequel with original director Craig Gillespie and writer Tony McNamara also returning. No other details have yet been revealed, such as if anyone else from the original movie will appear. A release date hasn’t been announced.
Debuting in May 28 both in theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access,Cruellawas seen as a big hit for Disney. It has earned $85 million at the domestic box office with a worldwide haul of $221 million. The news of Stone signing on for aCruellasequel also comes as a surprise for many, given the recent controversy over Disney releasing new movies on Disney+. Scarlett Johansson is suing Disney over the release ofBlack Widowand there were rumors that Stone was considering a similar lawsuit.
Along withEmma Stoneas Estella Miller,Cruellaalso stars Emma Thompson as Baroness von Hellman, a designer who serves as Estella’s key rival. Both Emmas wowed critics with their performances and were widely praised for their acting. The two also joked that they would be up for a sequel in the vein ofThe Godfather IIthat would take place in two separate time periods with Thompson writing the screenplay.
“I’m writing the letter now. Actually, does anyone got any paper? ‘Dear Mr.Disney…’ Oh, is he still around? I don’t even know,” Thompson said when the idea was pitched to her in a Rotten Tomatoes interview. “Please, can we do exactly what was just suggested in this interview? I’m sending it. Oh my God… That’s a really good - ok!”
“We are very pleased withCruella’s box office success, in conjunction with its strongDisney+ Premier Accessperformance to date,” a Disney spokesperson said in June, announcing that a sequel was in early development. “The film has been incredibly well received by audiences around the world, with a 97% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes in addition to A’s in every demographic from CinemaScore on opening weekend, ranking it among the most popular of our live-action reimaginings. We look forward to a long run as audiences continue to enjoy this fantastic film.”
At that time, it was reported that Craig Gillespie and Tony McNamara were expected to return, but Stone’s attachment to the sequel wasn’t confirmed. With recent rumors that she was considering a potential lawsuit, there were questions over whether she’d come back forCruella 2. Given her acclaimed performance in the first movie, it would have been very difficult to accept anyone else in the role for the sequel, so this is certainly fantastic news for fans of the original.
Along with Stone and Thompson,Cruellastars Joel Fry, Paul Walter Hauser, Emily Beecham, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, and Mark Strong. Stone also served as an executive producer on the movie alongside original Cruella de Vil actress Glenn Close. It’s unclear whenCruella 2will start filming or when it will be released. This news comes to us fromThe Hollywood Reporter.
