Disney’s live-action Cruella may land Paul Walter Hauser as co-star
The cast of Cruella is starting to take shape. According to The Wrap, Paul Walter Hauser is in talks to join the cast of the live-action film, which centers on the villain from 101 Dalmations, Cruella de Vil, played by Emma Thompson. It’s unclear what role Hauser is currently in talks over.
The actor recently starred in Spike Lee’s Oscar-winning BlacKkKlansman, as well as the 2017 Oscar-winner I, Tonya. He recently wrapped production on Da 5 Bloods for Netflix.
The Cruella De Vil origin story will explore the villainess who first appeared in Dodie Smith’s 1956 book, The Hundred and One Dalmatians. The role was voiced by Betty Lou Gerson in Disney’s 1961 animated adaptation and played by Glenn Close in the 1996 live-action take (as well as in that film’s 2000 sequel, 102 Dalmatians). Smith also briefly revisited the character in her lesser-known science-fiction sequel book, The Starlight Barking.
The long-in-development film will be helmed by I, Tonya director Craig Gillespie.
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First scripted by The Devil Wears Prada scribe Aline Brosh McKenna, the Cruella De Vil movie’s most recent version hails from Dana Fox, who is co-writing the script along with Tony McNamara.
Cruella is set for release on December 23, 2020.
(Photo credit: Backgrid Images)
