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Emma Stone, the new face of Cruella de Vil, isn’t as excited as we initially thought about her upcoming live-action Cruella sequel for one specific reason.
Credit: Disney/ Canva
Although Emma Stone wasn’t the first live-action version of the fashionable Disney villain, Glenn Close played a role in 101 Dalmations (1996), she was the first to be without a particular trademark that was notably missing when Disney gave their 1961 animated film a fresh live-action remake in 2021.
A fan-favorite, Emma Stone, brought a brand-new look to the infamous villain in the 2021 film alongside Emma Thompson (Baroness Von Hellman) and Joel Fry, breathed forward by Australian writer Tony McNamara.
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The unforgettable look, rivaled other Disney live-action projects in that it didn’t stick solely to the well-known story of Cruella de Vil. Despite the beautiful performance of Emma Thompson, Ston’s portrayal of the popular villain provided an amazing back story to her notorious obsession with fashion, eventually leading to the need to harvest dog fur.
Stone, who is notable for other roles in films like La La Land (2016), Poor Things (2023), Easy A (2010), and Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011), gave an exhilarating performance that shed a bit of humanity onto the star villain, setting Disney up for an obvious sequel to the live-action remake.
Credit: Walt Disney Pictures
According to McNamara, this much-anticipated sequel will explore the “agency and power” of Cruella, bringing star Emma Stone back to reprise the role, along with musical director Paul Walter Hauser and filmmaker Craig Gillespie.
However, according to Stone herself, there is one aspect of playing Cruella de Vil that she is not looking forward to, and it has nothing to do with the deal she closed with Disney following lawsuits filed by other notable Hollywood stars like Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow, 2021).
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One notable feature of the villainous fashionista was missing from the original 2021 film, one that is almost as iconic as Curella’s black and white hair. Fans familiar with any previous Walt Disney Studios projects featuring the notorious Cruella de Vil will recall her in live-action and animated versions of 101 Dalmatians, with a sleek accessory.
Missing from Disney’s Cruella was the infamous long-stemmed cigarette holder and billowing smoke from both the Glenn Close version and the original 101 Dalmatians.
Credit: Walt Disney Pictures
However, as times have changed, Disney chose not to glorify the bad habit of one of its most popular villains, instead shifting interest to her impact on the world of fashion. It seems, at least according to Emma Stone’s recent interview with The New York Times, published by AOL, this is one aspect of the character the famed actress hated not being incorporated into the Disney film.
“That is not allowed in 2021,” Stone told The New York Times. “We are not allowed to smoke onscreen in a Disney film. It was difficult to not have that cigarette holder,” she said. “I was so excited to have that green plume of smoke in there, but it was not possible.”
Emma Stone is spot on in her assessment of tobacco use in her own origin story. Since 2007, Walt Disney Studios has not allowed cigarette use in any of its productions. According to AOL, in 2015, this ban was extended even further to all of Disney’s branches, including Marvel and Pixar.
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As for the sequel, which is still in pre-production, Emma Stone will have to reprise her role without the iconic cigarette stem made famous by the original animated feature due to this mandatory statute.
A full cast list has not been identified for Cruella 2, but it stands to reason that there is the potential for form castmates like Mark Strong to make a reappearance. One thing is for certain, however, cigarettes or not, Disney would be silly not to bring back costume designer Jenny Beavan, whose impact on the first film made it a true fashion feature.
