Disney's 'Cruella' to Reportedly Start Production This Summer

Disney's live-action Cruella film may be headed into production soon.

According to a report from The Disinsider, the film will start production this summer in London, England. It's a production start that would put the film on pace for the 2020 release date the film is expected to be looking at.

This update is the latest on the Cruella film. Back in early December, Deadline reported that I, Tonya director Craig Gillespie was in talks to helm the movie focusing on the iconic 101 Dalmatians villain. La La Land alum Emma Stone is set to play the titular role.

Gillespie will replace Alex Timbers (Mozart In The Jungle), who left the project due to scheduling issues. Timbers' work on a stage adaptation of Beetlejuice as well as another project heading Moulin Rouge for Baz Luhrmann, has Timbers' schedule booked a little deeper than Disney reportedly had hoped. As a result, the company moved on so that Cruella could get into production quickly for filming this year.

The Disinsider also included what they called a mini-synopsis of Cruella which you can check out below.

"Estella (Cruella De Vil) lives on the streets of 1980s London with other hoodlums, where we learn the real origins behind Estella's hatred of Dalmatians."

Cruella de Vil first appeared in Walt Disney Pictures' 101 Dalmatians in 1961. The character has since appeared in live-action twice, portrayed by Glenn Close in both 101 Dalmatians (1996) and 102 Dalmatians (2000).

Stone recently appeared in The Favourite for which she's been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2017 for her role in La La Land.

Cruella is among several planned live-action adaptations from Disney. Lady and the Tramp, featuring Tessa Thompson and Justin Theroux as the voices of the titular pooches, is set to debut on Disney+ sometime after its launch later this year. Maleficent 2 is scheduled to hit theaters on May 29, 2020 and Disney has several live-action films hitting theaters this year. Dumbo will fly into theaters on March 29th, followed by Aladdin on May 24th and The Lion King on July 19th.

Are you excited about the Cruella live-action film? Let us know in the comments below.

Cruella has no official release date at this time but is expected in 2020.