Cruella de Vil, the cold-blooded and sinister villainess from Disney‘s animated classic “101 Dalmations”, will be getting her own live-action movie.
However, she will be getting “50 shades” of Dalmatians as the live-action feature film will be written by “Fifty Shades of Grey” writer Kelly Marcel.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Mouse House is currently fast-tracking the project based on the iconic Disney villain.
Kelly Marcel, who is perhaps best known for tackling “Saving Mr. Banks”, has been hired to work on the story with HBO’s “Togetherness” co-creator Steve Zissis. An earlier version of the project, which had Andrew Gunn on board to produce, was done by “The Devil Wears Prada” screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna.
This announcement came after Disney unveiled its full movie slate.
It certainly isn’t the first time that Disney has released a spin-off film based on the Disney villains.
Earlier in 2014, the studio released “Maleficent“, a new take on the villainess from “Sleeping Beauty”. Angelina Jolie starred in it as the titular character and she is portrayed as the misunderstood antagonist. At the time, the film earned USD758 million globally.
The success of “Maleficent” was followed by this year’s live-action “Cinderella” movie, which earned USD542 million worldwide.
First appeared in Dodie Smith’s 1956 novel “The Hundred and One Dalmatians”, Cruella de Vil became a Disney icon after the release of the 1961 animated movie.
The fictional fur-fetishist was later brought to life by Glenn Close in 1996’s live-action version of “101 Dalmatians” and its 2000 sequel, “102 Dalmatians”. She was also portrayed by Victoria Smurfit and Milli Wilkinson in ABC’s “Once Upon a Time“, as well as by Wendy Raquel Robinson in Disney Channel’s “Descendants”.
A plethora of live-action fairy tales are in multiple stages of development at Disney now.
The list is as follows:
- The Jungle Book – 15th April 2016
- Alice: Through the Looking Glass – 27th May 2016
- Pete’s Dragon – 12th August 2016
- Beauty and the Beast – 17th March 2017
- Dumbo (Director: Tim Burton)
- Winnie the Pooh (Writer: Alex Perry)
- Mulan (Writer: Elizabeth Martin and Lauren Hynek)
- Sword in the Stone (Writer: Brian Cogman)
- Pinocchio (Writer: Peter Hedges)
- Tinkerbell
- Genie
- Fantasia – Night On Bald Mountain
- Prince Charming
- Maleficent 2
It is unclear when the spin-off film based on de Vil will be released, but Disney has dated a number of animated films and live-action movies through 2019.
The newly-announced movie slate is as follows:
- Untitled live action fairy tale – 22nd December 2017
- Untitled live action fairy tale – 2nd November 2018
- Untitled live action fairy tale – 29th March 2019
- Untitled live action fairy tale – 8th November 2019
Would you to like to watch a movie based on the “101 Dalmations” villain? Who do you think should play the role?
Share your thoughts in the comments box below.
