Disney Cruella sequel is in early development

The villain's tale isn't over yet.

Corinne Reichert Senior Editor

Corinne Reichert (she/her) grew up in Sydney, Australia and moved to California in 2019. She holds degrees in law and communications, and currently writes news, analysis and features for CNET across the topics of electric vehicles, broadband networks, mobile devices, big tech, artificial intelligence, home technology and entertainment. In her spare time, she watches soccer games and F1 races, and goes to Disneyland as often as possible.

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I've been covering technology and mobile for 12 years, first as a telecommunications reporter and assistant editor at ZDNet in Australia, then as CNET's West Coast head of breaking news, and now in the Thought Leadership team.

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Corinne Reichert

June 4, 2021 6:22 p.m. PT

cruella-may-2021-disney-plus-7 — Cruella appeared in theaters and on Disney Plus last week.
Laurie Sparham/Disney

Cruella, Disney's live-action flick focused on the villain from its animated classic One Hundred and One Dalmatians, has already spawned a sequel. The second Cruella movie is in early development, as noted earlier Friday by The Hollywood Reporter, and will continue the origin story of Cruella de Vil.

There's plenty of fodder for a sequel; Disney's Cruella, starring Emma Stone, left open the question of how Cruella became the "evil thing" we see in the 1961 cartoon (and in the later live-action remake, from 1996).

Cruella launched May 28 in movie theaters and via paid Premier Access on Disney Plus. The movie will become available to all Disney Plus subscribers without the extra Premier Access fee on Aug. 27, but for now it'll cost an additional $30 on top of your monthly bill for Disney's streaming service.

Cruella has earned $48.5 million globally, according to The Hollywood Reporter, and it's gained a 97% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 74% critics score.

"We are very pleased with Cruella's box office success, in conjunction with its strong Disney+ Premier Access performance," a Disney spokesperson told CNET in an emailed statement, adding that it's "among the most popular of our live-action reimaginings."