Alex Timbers In Talks To Direct Cruella

Disney's next live-action project is starting to take shape, and the studio is reportedly close to inking a deal with its new director for the upcoming Cruella project.

Disney is in talks with Mozart In The Jungle director and writer Alex Timbers (via Deadline). The studio has worked with Timbers before on its musical adaption of Frozen, but the two parted ways last summer. Disney evidently wants to keep him in their ranks, and it makes sense why.

After the Frozen project fell through, Timbers started developing his new project Joan of Arc: Into The Fire, which reteams him with David Byrne. Timbers and Byrne also developed the successful Here Lies Love, and rehearsals are just about to begin for Joan of Arc: Into The Fire. Timbers suffered a setback with his Rocky musical but bounced back with Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, and he also co-directed Peter and the Starcatcher, which he took home a Tony Award for.

Disney wants Cruella in production early next year and getting a director selected before the new year would certainly help make that a reality. Hopefully, that will allow the studio to start ramping up the casting, which only consists of Emma Stone in the lead role at this point.

Cruella is being written by Aline Brosh McKenna, Jez Butterworth, Kelly Marcel, and Steve Zissis, with McKenna and Andrew Gun listed as executive producer and producer respectively. Emma Stone is attached to star as Cruella de Vil.

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The live-action Cruella project is aiming for a 2018 release.