As these things usually go, we are not done. Disney has one more film to add to its live-action remake slate, and it’s a project long thought to have dissipated in the developmental process.
As told by The Hollywood Reporter, Disney’s long-rumored Cruella movie, which will supposedly center on the origins of the titular character, is now back in development and currently being fast-tracked by the studio with an eye towards filling out a release date soon (which I’ll explain later).
Kelly Marcel, best known for co-writing Disney’s Saving Mr. Banks and adapting Fifty Shades of Grey, will pen the screenplay. She will work with Steve Zissis, co-creator of HBO’s Togetherness, to develop the story. Marcel is the latest screenwriter to take a spin on the film after Aline Brosh McKenna turned in an early version of the script.
The character of Cruella De Vil first appeared in Dodie Smith’s original 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians. She would soon become an iconic Disney villain, thanks to the success of the classic 1961 animated adaptation 101 Dalmatians.
Cruella will be the character’s fourth live-action incarnation. Glenn Close portrayed the character in the 1996 live-action film and its 2000 sequel. On TV, she was recently seen on ABC’s Once Upon a Time (portrayed by Victoria Smurfit) and Disney Channel’s Descendants (portrayed by Wendy Raquel Robinson).
This is number sixteen on the list of Disney’s live-action remakes or its sequels. Interestingly enough, buried in Disney’s mega-announcement last week were dates for four untitled Disney remake films: December 22, 2017, November 2, 2018, March 29, 2019, and November 18, 2019.
Since Cruella is now on the fast track, we can only assume that the film will land on one of these four dates. Granted, that’s only a guess, since there are twelve other films that could fill any of these launch dates, but it wouldn’t surprise me if I were right.
Once more, the list goes as follows (including three sequels): The Jungle Book, Pete’s Dragon, Beauty and the Beast, Alice in Wonderland 2, Dumbo, Mulan, Winnie the Pooh, Pinocchio, Tink, Night on Bald Mountain, Maleficent 2, Prince Charming, Genies, The Sword in the Stone, Untitled Mary Poppins Sequel, and Cruella.
What do you think? Any thoughts on this news? Of the four dates shown in the article, which one do you think Cruella might land?
Edited by: Kelly Conley