Given the success that Disney has had in recent years with taking some of their classic stories and/or characters and setting them in a live-action setting, it makes total sense that the studio has several of these projects in development. One such project isCruella, a live-action origin story for the101 Dalmatiansvillain Cruella De Vil. That project has just taken a major leap forward as Disney has reportedly honed in on a director for the project.
According toThe Hollywood Reporter,Mozart in the Jungleco-creator and accomplished theater directorAlex Timbersis in negotiations to direct thelive-action Cruella De Vil moviefor Disney. He doesn’t have much experience when it comes to directing feature films, butAlex Timbersdoes have a resume that seems to support a project likeCruella. He was nominated for two Tony Awards for his work directingPeter and the Star Catcher, a play that served as a prequel toPeter Pan, as well as directing and writing the book for the rock musicalBloody Bloody Andrew Jackson.
Outside of his Broadaway experience,Alex Timberscreated Amazon’sMozart in the Jungleseries withRoman CoppolaandJason Schwartzman. The show won for best television series in the comedy/musical category at the Golden Globes this year and just scored another nomination earlier this week. The show also is rooted in music, asCruellais said to be, so it makes a lot of sense on paper. The movie is described as “having both strong fashion and music sensibilities,” and will be set in the 80s.
Emma Stoneis currently attached to play De Vil in the movie, which has worked out pretty well time wise for Disney. She is currently getting a lot of awards nomination and has emerged as an Oscar favorite for her work in the musicalLa La Land. With all of the attention she is getting for that movie, it can only benefitCruellato have her on board. Especially if she does go on to win the Oscar for Best Actress this year. “Academy Award winnerEmma Stone” will probably look pretty good on the poster.
This project is a little different than Disney’s more recent, successful live-action endeavours, which have been more or less remakes ofclassic animated taleslikeThe Jungle Book,Alice in Wonderlandand the upcomingBeauty and the Beast.Cruella De Vilmade her debut in the animated version of101 Dalmatiansback in 1961, butGlenn Closedid play her in the 1996 live-action101 Dalmations. This, instead, will be a prequel/origin story and will be crafting a new story entirely centered on the famousDisney villain. Now that the project has a director (assuming the negotiations go well) and a script fromFifty Shades of GreywriterKelly Marcel, the project will likely move forward, but Disney has yet to set a release date forCruella.
