‘Cruella’ Cast Talks Villain Origin Story Ideas

With Cruella released to theaters and Disney+ today, the cast recently discussed with Variety other Disney villains that would make great origin story films.

Read: ‘Cruella’ Review: The Best Live-Action Disney Update Yet

Emma Stone, playing the titular role of Cruella in the film, suggests The Little Mermaid‘s Ursula as a good character to explore.

“She’s an octopus and the world you would get to live in, like Ursula’s parents and what happened there. You’ve never really seen a non-human Disney villain be explored in that way.”

Emma Stone

Emma Thompson (The Baroness) added to the suggestion saying, “The parents keep giving her a shirt that only has four arms. They really mess her up with that from a very early age, so she’s constantly trying to fit two arms into each hole. That would really mess you up, wouldn’t it?”

Kirby Howell-Baptiste, who plays Anita Darling in Cruella, also agrees with Stone and Thompson:

“I gotta know how Ursula came to be. Like, why is she so damn mean? But also I know that she’s misunderstood.”

Kirby Howell-Baptiste

Of course, Melissa McCarthy will be playing the role in the upcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, which is likely to be released sometime next year.

Other members of the cast suggested origin stories for Scar (whose origin may in fact be revealed in Barry Jenkins’ upcoming prequel to the live-action remake of The Lion King) and Jafar.

Cruella is currently available to watch both in theaters and through Disney+’s Premier Access. Directed by Craig Gillespie, the film explores the origin of the iconic villain from the 1961 film One Hundred and One Dalmatians. It stars Emma Stone as Cruella herself, in addition to Emma Thompson, Joel Fry, Paul Walter Hauser, and Kirby Howell-Baptiste.

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