Cruella 2 Hasn’t Signed Original Movie Director Yet

The recently announced Disney sequel to the Emma Stone-led Cruella has yet to sign on the original film’s director. Craig Gillespie brought the comedy-crime caper to life this past Spring, taking the classic animated film 101 Dalmatians back to its roots in order to explain the creation of one of cinema’s most iconic villains, Cruella de Vil. With its impressive aesthetic and villainous turn by Stone, Cruella was a financial and critical hit.

Though there was no shortage of those who criticized the film for its dark take on what is essentially meant to be a children’s story, Cruella succeeded in pulling off the challenging balancing act required to explain the origins of de Vil while still keeping things PG-13. In its darkest moments, the film played into a mixture of both high fashion and Gotham-esque villainy, resulting in Stone’s portrayal of a character that was equally easy to like and dislike. Cruella did stumble at times and wasn’t exactly perfect, but it was also the sort of film that was clearly only the beginning of what Disney was setting up as yet another franchise. At present, Stone is set to return for the sequel, but that’s as far along as the project has gotten, leaving fans to wonder many things about just what Cruella 2 will offer.

As it happens, Cruella’s director, Craig Gillespie, has yet to sign on to the sequel. The news comes courtesy of THR, who don’t explicitly state that the I, Tonya filmmaker is holding out for any particular reason, only that he still hasn’t committed to the project. Cruella screenwriter, Tony McNamara, however, is onboard to write the sequel, though at this point it doesn’t look as though he’ll be ready to head to work on it until early 2022. Gillespie’s filmmaking style was one of the biggest reasons why Cruella was able to so aptly blend comedy with the story’s darker elements, so it would indeed be a great loss if he wasn’t to return for Cruella 2.

Regardless of Gillespie’s current status on the sequel, however, it should be noted that the filmmaker is (as of this writing), listed as the project’s director on IMDb. This certainly isn’t a guarantee that he’s returning, but so far, all signs point to him being the number one choice to direct Cruella 2. Talent negotiations can often be a drawn out affair in Hollywood, though they don’t necessarily always work out. As it’s highly likely that there will also be a Cruella 3 at some point in the future, Gillespie could be looking for the sort of contract that would keep him on board the franchise up to that point. Then again, Disney could currently be struggling to keep the director at all – it’s very much a matter of conjecture at present.

Despite Cruella 2’s current struggles, the fact that the sequel already has Stone and McNamara confirmed, means that the project is in a strong place. Gillespie’s status has yet to become that much of a concern and hopefully his contract will be ironed out as soon as possible. In the meantime, fans are sure to be more preoccupied with trying to figure out just where the sequel’s story will go and how much more of the 101 Dalmatians lore will be explored post Cruella.

Source: THR

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Mike Jones
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Mike Jones is an author, screenwriter, world traveller and cinephile. His work has been featured in print and online in a variety of publications, and he’s also a Berlinale Talents alumnus. Cinema has always moved him in a big way and aside from having seen The Talented Mr Ripley more times than any other living person, he maintains a pretty darn healthy physical media collection. His favourite filmmakers include: Jordan Peele, David Lean, Alfred Hitchcock, Mike Leigh, Steven Spielberg, the Dardenne Brothers, Noah Baumbach, Michael Haneke, Barry Jenkins and Andrea Arnold. Often jet-lagged, Mike once turned down a certain A-list celebrity’s offer to join them for a night of partying after a strange encounter in an airport.

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