If you’re someone who saw Cruella and thought, “Ah, now I completely understand why she wanted to skin all those dogs,†have we got news for you! According to The Hollywood Reporter, following the release of their 101 Dalmatians prequel starring Emma Stone last week, Disney is already back in the atelier, reportedly designing a whole new Cruella sequel, now in early development. Screenwriter Tony McNamara and director Craig Gillespie are reportedly expected to return for the film.
Now, you might ask, isn’t a Cruella sequel just another name for 101 Dalmatians? Well, let’s hope not, because the closer we get to Ms. de Vil’s original cinematic turn, the closer we get to grappling with the whole “turning dozens of dogs into coats†issue, and we just don’t want to explain that to our kids.
“We are very pleased with Cruella’s box-office success, in conjunction with its strong Disney+ Premier Access performance to date,†a Disney spokesperson said in a statement to THR. “The film has been incredibly well received by audiences around the world, with a 97% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes, in addition to A’s in every demographic from CinemaScore on opening weekend, ranking it among the most popular of our live-action re-imaginings. We look forward to a long run as audiences continue to enjoy this fantastic film.â€
Of course, considering the two pups we meet at the end of Cruella, we can very well guess the ground a sequel would cover, but we have to imagine threatening to skin even one dog would knock a few percentage points off that Rotten Tomatoes score, let alone over a hundred. Then again, we’ve been wrong before, and either way, Glenn Close can, and should, co-star as Cruella’s grandma.