Several newly released images give Disney fans a further look at upcoming prequel, Cruella. Showing off the title characters two very different looks, with star Emma Stone looking a bit more like herself before transforming into the black-and-white bad guy we all know and love, the images also exhibit Cruella's accomplices Jasper and Horace, played by Joel Fry and Paul Walter Hauser, Cruella's journalist pal Anita, played by Killing Eve star Kirby Howell-Baptiste, and finally Mark Strong as John, Baroness von Hellman's untrustworthy valet.
Cruella will pick up with the infamous Disney character 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 the Baroness von Hellman, 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.
Star Emma Stone, who also acts as a producer on the Disney project, has revealed that Cruella will show sides to the infamous character that have never been seen before, adding depth to the 101 Dalmatians villain.
"It's hard to call someone a bad 'un completely when you see them from the very beginning. You know, once you've seen the origin story, things start to piece together and make a bit more sense, even though her behaviour as an adult is not necessarily excusable in any way. I think by the time you get to the end of [this film], you start to understand how this narrative around Cruella developed."
Director Craig Gillespie echoes these sentiments saying, "Whenever I approach any character, I try to understand where they're coming from, which I think inherently gives you empathy," he explains. "It was important to go on this journey with Cruella. And so the audience, while they may not necessarily agree with what she's doing, they can understand it, and the choices that she's had to make, given the situation that she's in."
Cruella is scheduled to be released theatrically and simultaneously available on Disney+ with Premier Access on May 28, 2021 in the United States. The movie was recently given an official rating of PG-13 due to "some violence and thematic elements," meaning that the Cruella won't shy away from the iconic villain's nefarious schemes and violent outlook.
Directed by I, Tonya and Lars and the Real Girl's Craig Gillespie from a screenplay written by Aline Brosh McKenna (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Jez Butterworth (Ford v Ferrari), Kelly Marcel (Venom), and Tony McNamara (The Favourite), as well as Dana Fox and Steve Zissis, expect Cruella to be a little more adult-oriented than the animated adventures on which it's based. This comes to us courtesy of Games Radar.
