Summary

  • Emma Stone offers an update on Cruella 2, saying it is a work in progress and she is excited to return as the iconic character.
  • The sequel to the Disney villain prequel could face delays due to the busy schedules of director Craig Gillespie and star Emma Stone.
  • Writer Tony McNamara, who penned the first movie, is currently working on the script for Cruella 2.

Academy Award winner Emma Stone offers an update on the development of Cruella 2, a sequel to her 2021 prequel about the early years of Disney villain Cruella de Vil. Speaking with Variety, Stone revealed that the Cruella follow-up is currently “a work in progress,” but she cannot wait to return as the iconic character. See what she had to say about Cruella 2 below...

"You tell me. Hopefully sooner, rather than later. There's a work in progress kind of thing going on. Yeah, yeah. We'll see... She's a blast, so we'll see."

For now, Stone is currently a favorite to receive her fourth Academy Award nomination for her role in the acclaimed twisted sci-fi black comedy, Poor Things. Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, written by Tony McNamara, and based on the novel by Alasdair Gray, Stone leads Poor Things as Bella Baxter, a young Victorian woman who is crudely resurrected by a mad scientist.

The last we heard about Cruella 2 was from star Paul Walter Hauser who last year provided a promising (clearly too promising) update on the development of a sequel to the Disney villain prequel. In an interview with Forbes, Hauser, who portrayed the thief and Cruella accomplice Horace in the first outing, believed that Cruella 2 would go before cameras in 2023.

"I'm told we're doing it next year. I don't know when but I think Tony McNamara is writing the script right now. He's probably tinkering away with that. We got to work around the ever-busy schedule of Craig Gillespie and Emma Stone, who are worth the wait, so anytime they want to do it, I'll be there."

So, while he may have been wrong about when Cruella 2 will begin filming, he also stated that writer Tony McNamara, who penned the first movie, is currently working hard on the script. Hauser did note the busy schedules of both director Craig Gillespie and star Emma Stone, something which could delay production. But considering the success of Cruella, everyone involved is no doubt excited to return to the world of one of Disney’s greatest bad guys.

RELATED: Exclusive: Poor Things Cinematographer Lauds Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone

Emma Stone Has Signed on to Return for Cruella 2

Cruella
Cruella

A live-action prequel feature film following a young Cruella de Vil. Starring Emma Stone.

Release Date
May 28, 2021
Director
Craig Gillespie
Cast
Emma Stone , Emma Thompson , Joel Fry , Paul Walter Hauser , John McCrea , Emily Beecham
Writers
Dana Fox , Tony McNamara , Aline Brosh McKenna , Kelly Marcel , Steve Zissis , Dodie Smith

The first Cruella is led by Academy Award winner Emma Stone (La La Land), who steps into the expensive shoes of Disney's Cruella De Vil. The movie explores the rebellious early days of one of cinema's most notorious — and notoriously fashionable — villains, as Cruella begins in 1970s London amidst the punk rock revolution, and follows a young grifter named Estella. A clever and creative girl determined to make a name for herself with her designs, she befriends a pair of young thieves who appreciate her appetite for mischief, and together they are able to build a life for themselves on the London streets.

One day, Estella's flair for fashion catches the eye of Baroness von Hellman (two-time Oscar winner Emma Thompson), a fashion legend who is devastatingly chic and terrifyingly haute. But their relationship sets in motion a course of events and revelations that will cause Estella to embrace her wicked side and become the raucous, fashionable and revenge-bent Cruella.

Directed by Craig Gillespie (I Tonya) from a screenplay by Dana Fox and Tony McNamara, with a story by Aline Brosh McKenna and Kelly Marcel & Steve Zissis, Cruella stars Joel Fry, Paul Walter Hauser, Emily Beecham, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, and Mark Strong alongside Emma’s Stone and Thompson. Cruella was one of the first movies to be released theatrically and simultaneously available on Disney+ through its Premier Access, and went on to receive generally positive reviews and earned two nominations at the 94th Academy Awards.

Not much is known about the direction of Cruella 2, though Stone and Thompson have some ideas. While the final moments of Cruella do begin to fill the gap between the prequel and 101 Dalmatians, there is still plenty of time in between and story to be told before the adventures of Pongo and Perdita.

The first Cruella is now available to stream on Disney+.