Ragesh Dipu
Emma Thompson is in talks to join Disney’s ‘Cruella’ starring Emma Stone, reports The Wrap. The live-action movie tells the origin story of the devil woman Cruella de Vil, who played the roles of the main antagonist in Disney’s ‘101 Dalmatians’ and its remakes. Details of Thompson’s role are kept under tight wraps. ‘Cruella’ is directed by Craig Gillespie who is known for ‘I, Tonya.’ Marc Platt, Kristin Burr and Andrew Gunn produce the movie.
Stone reportedly plays the role of the villainous De Vil. The character went on the become one of the most popular figure in Disney’s roster of baddies despite her devil woman image. The 1961 animated classic ‘101 Dalmatians’ kick-started the character’s journey. Betty Lou Gerson portrayed Cruella De Vil as a cruel heiress who kidnapped Pongo and Perdita’s puppies to make fur coats out of their skins. Glenn Close played the character in the 1996 live-action flick in which she owned a fashion house. Close returned to play De Vil in the 2000 sequel ‘102 Dalmatians.’
Set in London’s elite fashion scene of the ’70s, ‘Cruella’ follows Stone’s De Vil who is a young and talented apparel designer. Despite her genius of making amazing designs, she is reeling under her pathetic financial situations. But when a Baroness steps into her shop with Cruella’s special locket on her neck, the doomed designers’ life turns on its head. The locket is a gift given to Cruella by her mother before she died. But she lost it on the night of her mother’s demise. She decides to take her locket back at any cost from the Baroness. ‘Cruella’ also reveals the secret behind De Vil’s obsession with Dalmatians.
But Disney hasn’t revealed the timeline from which ‘Cruella’ picks up the story. The upcoming flick is written by Tony McNamara from an earlier draft written by Dana Fox. ‘Cruella’ marks Thompson’s third outing with Disney’s live-action adaptations. She played the character of Mrs. Potts in the 2017 movie ‘Beauty and the Beast‘ and ‘P.L. Travers’ in ‘Saving Mr. Banks.’
Thompson’s upcoming projects are Amazon’s ‘Late Night’ and Sony’s ‘Men in Black International.’ She reprises her role as Agent O in the ‘Men in Black’ sequel which is slated for a June 14, 2019 release. ‘Late Night’ hits theaters on June 7, 2019. Thompson was last seen as a host of the Mother’s Day episode of ‘Saturday Night Live’ on May 11. She also brought Tina Fey and Amy Poehler along with her to the show.
‘Cruella’ is slated for a December 23, 2020 release.
Cover Image Courtesy: Amazon Studios
