‘I, Tonya’ Director in Early Talks to Tackle Cruella de Vil Movie for Disney

Craig Gillespie, who last directed I, Tonya, is in early talks to helm Cruella, a live-action take on the 101 Dalmatians villainess.

Alex Timbers was on board to direct the project, which has Emma Stone set to play the dog-hating fashionista, but the Mozart of the Jungle co-creator ran into scheduling issues. Timbers, who is also a theater director, has two major productions opening on Broadway next year, Moulin Rouge and Beetlejuice.

Andrew Gunn is producing Cruella with Marc Platt. Kristin Burr, who just wrapped shooting Dora the Explorer, is also producing.

Stone will play infamous villain Cruella De Vil in what is being billed as an origin story, set in the early 1980s with a punk vibe.

De Vil was first seen in the 1961 animated classic 101 Dalmatians. Glenn Close played her in the 1996 live-action film produced by John Hughes, which featured the character as the head of a fashion house.

Gillespie’s I, Tonya was the 2017 Tonya Harding biopic that earned Margot Robbie an Oscar nomination and Allison Janney a best supporting actress Oscar win. He is well-versed in the Disney ways, having helmed The Finest Hours and Million Dollar Arm for the studio. Other credits include the 2011 Fright Night remake and Lars and the Real Girl.

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