Exclusive: ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’ Star John McCrea Joins Disney’s ‘Cruella’

Disney’s live-action Cruella de Vil origin film, Cruella is currently in post-production and only six months away from hitting the big screen but that’s not stopping new casting news from coming.

We have learned that John McCrea, who headlined the stage version of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, which Disney and 20th Century Studios’ has turned into a big screen feature, out later this year, will also appear in the 101 Dalmatian prequel in a supporting. McCrea’s character details are being kept under wraps but is going by the name, Artie.

Just last week we shared brand new story details for Cruella, highlighting Cruella’s upbringing and where we will meet her in the film:

Before she becomes Cruella de Vil?

Teenaged Estella has a dream. She wishes to become a fashion designer, having been gifted with talent, innovation, and ambition all in equal measures. But life seems intent on making sure her dreams never come true. Having wound up penniless and orphaned in London at twelve, four years later Estella runs wild through the city streets with her best friends and partners-in-(petty)-crime, Horace and Jasper, two amateur thieves. When a chance encounter vaults Estella into the world of the young rich and famous, however, she begins to question the existence she’s built for herself in London and wonders whether she might, indeed, be destined for more after all. When an up-and-coming rockstar commissions Estella to design him a signature piece, she begins to feel as though she has truly arrived. But what is the cost of keeping up with the fast crowd– and is it a price Estella is willing to pay?

Read: ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Director Jon M. Chu to Direct ‘Willow’ Series For Disney+

Emma Stone (La La Land) plays the villainious, Emma Thompson (Saving Mr. Banks) as the Baroness,  Paul Walter Hauser (BlacKkKlansman), and Joel Fry (Yesterday) as Cruella’s classic henchmen Jasper and Horace, Emily Beecham (Into The Badlands) likely playing Anita, Mark Strong (Shazam!) as the Baron, and Killing Eve star Kirby Howell-Baptiste in a currently unknown role.

Further, Dev Patel has been approached for the role of Raj aka Roger, the owner of Pongo, but that has yet to be confirmed at this moment. Glenn Close is on board as a producer on the project. The film will explore the villainess in 1970’s London. Cruella originated in Dodie Smith’s beloved 1956 book, “The Hundred and One Dalmatians.” The role was voiced by Betty Lou Gerson in Walt Disney’s 1961 animated adaptation and played by Close in the 1996 live-action remake, as well as in that film’s 2000 sequel, 102 Dalmatians.

Production on the project wrapped before the Hollywood shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. Directed by Craig Gillespie (I, Tonya), Cruella will hit theaters on May 28, 2021.

About Post Author