Emma Stone has reportedly been cast as Cruella De Vil in a live-action film focused on the 101 Dalmatians villainess.

The Hollywood Reporter writes that the movie will be directed by Craig Gillespie, previously known for Oscar-nominated I, Tonya. Very little is known about the project, apart from that it's billed as an origin story, set in the 80s with a "punk vibe".

Cruella De Vil was originally voiced by Betty Lou Gerson in Disney's 1961 animated film One Hundred and One Dalmatians. She was also famously played by Glenn Close in the 1996 and 2000 films.

Disney based its version of De Vil on Tallulah Bankhead, an American actress famed for her husky voice, wit, flamboyance and outrageous personality. She was romantically linked to men and women, from Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich to John Emery, the latter of whom she married. Although she never identified as "bisexual", she did described herself as "ambisextrous". Her most famous film was Alfred Hitchcock's 1944 thriller Lifeboat.

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Tallulah Halfhead in 1931

Disney is rebooting a number of its classic stories at the moment. The Lion King will return to the big screen in 2019 as a computer animated movie, starring Donald Glover and Beyonce as Simba and Nala. Aladdin will receive the live-action treatment next year, directed by Guy Ritchie and with Mena Massoud as Aladdin and Will Smith as the Genie.

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From: Harper's BAZAAR UK
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Ella Alexander
Ella Alexander is Harper’s Bazaar's Deputy Digital Editor. She writes across all sections, covering fashion, arts and feminism – from fashion features and shopping galleries to celebrity interviews and long-form opinion pieces. She lives in South London and has an ardent love for Keith Richards, Gary Barlow, AA Gill, George Orwell and Patti Smith (not in order). Her favourite film is The Labyrinth, mostly because of David Bowie, and she is distinguishable through her self-titled ‘Jeremy Corbyn baker boy hat’. She recently achieved relative fame after the Clooneys named their twins, Ella and Alexander, after her.