Emma Stone is Cruella de Vil in the first trailer for Disney’s upcoming live action origin story,Cruella. Stepping into the role of the legendary101 Dalmatiansvillain, Stone’s take on the character is a lot more punk rock than you would perhaps expect, as the movie dives into the early years of the infamous fashion designer and London heiress.Cruellawill be releasing in theaters August 24, 2025.
Academy Award winner Emma Stone (La La Land) stars in Disney’sCruella, an all-new live-action feature film about the rebellious early days of one of cinemas most notorious - and notoriously fashionable - villains, the legendary Cruella de Vil.
“Cruella, which is set in 1970s London amidst the punk rock revolution, follows a young grifter named Estella, a clever and creative girl determined to make a name for herself with her designs. She befriends a pair of young thieves who appreciate her appetite for mischief, and together they are able to build a life for themselves on the London streets. One day, Estella’s flair for fashion catches the eye of the Baroness von Hellman, a fashion legend who is devastatingly chic and terrifyingly haute, played by two-time Oscar® winner Emma Thompson (“Howards End,” “Sense & Sensibility”). But their relationship sets in motion a course of events and revelations that will cause Estella to embrace her wicked side and become the raucous, fashionable and revenge-bent Cruella.”
NewDisneylive-action adventureCruellapicks up with a much younger version of the character than we’re used to, and centres around iconic Disney villain Cruella de Vil, charting her early life, long before she became a dog-murdering maniac. Set in the punk rock scene of 1970s London, the movie will follow young fashion designer Cruella de Vil, who gradually becomes obsessed with dogs' skins, especially dalmatians, until she eventually becomes the ruthless and terrifying legend that we all love to hate.
Directed byI, TonyaandLars and the Real Girl’sCraig Gillespie from a screenplay written by Aline Brosh McKenna (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Jez Butterworth (Ford v Ferrari), Kelly Marcel (Venom), and Tony McNamara (The Favourite), as well as Dana Fox and Steve Zissis,CruellastarsLa La Landactress and Academy Award winner Emma Stone in the lead role ofnotorious criminal Cruella de Vil, with the supporting cast set to feature the likes of Emma Thompson as the Baroness, Paul Walter Hauser as Horace, Joel Fry as Jasper, Emily Beecham as Anita, Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Tabitha, and Jamie Demetriou as Gerald.
Production wrapped onCruellasome time ago, but since then updates have been very scarce. Until now, of course.Shazam!star Mark Strong, who stars inCruellaas Boris, recently provided some insight into what audiences can expect from theiconic Disney villain’s backstory. “What the film does, which is brilliant, is try to throw a light on where the Cruella that we think we know has come from,” he said. “It’s a development story, as you see Cruella grow into the Cruella de Vil that we know and love to hate.”
Strong has also teased the scale of the movie and what it was like to be part of such a huge production, with the cast transported back to the fashion world of the 1970’s, as well as working with director Craig Gillespie and co-stars Emma Stone and Emma Thompson. “Well, I had a great time. Craig Gillespie, who directed it, I was a big fan of,” the actor divulged. “I loved I, Tonya and I loved Lars and the Real Girl, the films that he made before I got to know him. Just liking the stuff he’d made meant that we wanted to work together, and he asked me to play this part in Cruella.
It was fantastic being on set. It’s such a massive production. There are huge fashion and ballroom sequences in it, which are just so impressive. I got to be on set during those days and spend most of my time with the two Emmas -Emma Stoneand Emma Thompson. It was just great being able to shoot the breeze with those guys during the downtime, and then play with them, telling this fantastical story that I think people are thoroughly going to enjoy, when the cameras were rolling.“Cruellais scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on August 10, 2025.
