It's been announced that Emma Stone will be vamping it up again as Cruella de Vil in Disney sequel Cruella 2. Stone first portrayed the classic Disney villain in this year's outrageously attired, punk rock-themed origin story, pitting herself against Emma Thompson's ruthless Baroness.
News of a Cruella sequel first broke in June, but only now has Stone signed on the dotted line. Deadline confirmed that she has now agreed to play Cruella once again, and speculation naturally extends towards the storyline.
The climax of the first Cruella nudged us somewhat closer towards the events of One Hundred and One Dalmatians. That said, there's still a gap to be filled – Cruella exited the first live-action movie on a relatively sympathetic basis, so we can only imagine what hastens her transformation into fully-fledged evil as per the 1961 Disney animation.
There's also the important issue of Roger and Anita, the protagonists of One Hundred and One Dalmatians and the respective owners of cute doggos Pongo and Perdie. Roger and Anita did appear in Cruella as, respectively, the Baroness' long-suffering assistant (Kayvan Novak) and Cruella's childhood friend/gossip columnist (Kirby Howell-Baptise).
One imagines that both characters will play an even more significant role in the sequel. Outside of Stone's involvement, it remains to be seen which cast members will return in the movie. Original director Craig Gillespie and screenwriter Tony McNamara are both on-board, although no release date has been announced.
What do you make of the Cruella 2 announcement? Let us know @Cineworld.