Disney’s Live-Action Cruella De Vil Spinoff Taps ‘Fifty Shades’ Writer
Yesterday, Disney set release dates for four more as-yet-untitled live-action fairy tales. At the time, we rattled off a long list of such projects already in development at the studio, fromDumbotoMulan, but one we overlooked now looks likely to claim one of those spots. Disney is reportedly fast-trackingCruella, a retelling of101 Dalmatiansthat hasKelly Marcel(Saving Mr. Banks) on board to write.
Get the latest on the Cruella de Vil spinoff after the jump.
THRreports Marcel will work on the story for the Cruella de Vil spinoff withSteve Zissis(HBO’sTogetherness).Aline Brosh McKenna(The Devil Wears Prada) worked onan earlier incarnationof the project that hadAndrew Gunn(Sky High) on board to produce. The film looks poised to do whatMaleficentdid forSleeping Beauty, and offer an alternate take on an iconic Disney villain.
Cruella de Vil first came into existence in Dodie Smith’s 1956 novel101 Dalmatians. Five years later, she leapt to the big screen in Disney’s animated adaptation. The studio adapted the story again in 1996, this time as a live-action feature withGlenn Closeplaying Cruella. A sequel followed in 2000.
More recently, the character was portrayed byVictoria SmurfitandMilli Wilkinsonin ABC’sOnce Upon a Time, and byWendy Raquel Robinsonin Disney Channel’sDescendants. Generally speaking, she’s portrayed as a cruel, wealthy woman who dislikes animals but loves fur. Like many other Disney villains, she’s got a big personality and a great evil laugh.
Marcel’s an in-demand writer whose credits includeSaving Mr. BanksandFifty Shades of Grey. (Say what you will about the latter, but thanks to Marcel, director Sam Taylor-Johnson, and star Dakota Johnson, it was better than it had any right to be.) She also worked on an Elvis Presley biopic for Baz Luhrmann and aLittle Mermaidfor Joe Wright. In addition, she is the co-creator of Fox’s short-lived dino dramaTerra Nova.
After the successes ofAlice in Wonderland,Maleficent, andCinderella, it didn’t exactly come as a surprise when Disney announced it had set asideDecember 22, 2017,August 10, 2025,June 01, 2025, andNovember 8, 2019for more live-action fairy tales. Though the studio hasn’t said which films will claim those dates, its eagerness to get moving onCruellasuggests we’ll see it sooner rather than later.
The studio has a lot more than four live-action fairy tales in the works, includingPinocchio,Winnie the Pooh,The Sword in the Stone; spinoffs about Tinker Bell, Prince Charming, and Genie; and sequels toEnchantedandFantasia. That’s in addition to the already-datedThe Jungle Book,Alice Through the Looking Glass,Pete’s Dragon, andBeauty and the Beast.
See Cruella in her original movie incarnation below. Out of context, the clip kind of makes Roger seem like a dick for making up a song to mock his wife’s friend.
