There’s no villain more loathsome than one who would use Dalmatian puppies for a fur coat, and Cruella de Vil is it. Her name is literally cruel, devil, and evil! And Emma Stone, who will play the titular role in upcoming Disney origin film Cruella, said that her take on the wretched furrier will show us a truly “bananas” side to the character.
“It's pretty trippy. It's wild,” Stone told Entertainment Tonight. She said that, while filming, she often thought, “This is bananas,” which surely begs the question: how much more maniacal could Cruella de Vil possibly be? Since this is an origin story, audiences will see how Cruella became so evil, indicating that her past may contain some fascinating nuggets of humanity. Stone says as much, calling Cruella’s backstory “a different ballgame” to Variety.
Stone is also a huge fan of the story. She said she “loved the [1961 Disney animated movie] for a really long time,” and praised Glenn Close’s exquisite performances in the 1996 live-action adaptation 101 Dalmatians and its 2000 sequel, 102 Dalmatians. Still, Cruella, which is set in the world of 1970s punk rock London, will cover her life up until the timeline established in the 1996 film. “This comes before [Close's] story. This leads to her to where she becomes true greatness,” she told ET, adding that she thinks “Close is obviously the GOAT.”
Cruella will be released in 2021 and will be directed by Craig Gillespie, who made I, Tonya (which is also bananas).