Watch Out Dalmatians: Emma Stone Frontrunner For Live-Action Cruella De Vil Movie

Prequel will most likely feature Cruella having her first cigarette.

By Dan Woburn /

Did you like Maleficent? Well, Disney doesn€™t care either way, and they€™re currently pushing forward with plans for similar villainess-origin stories. Y'know, considering the $760 million that the Angelina Jolie Sleeping Beauty prequel made worldwide. This time the focus falls squarely on 101 Dalmations' fur-crazy old diva, Cruella de Vil. Emma Stone is currently being touted as the frontrunner for the role, which makes it obvious that Cruella will be far from the bitter spinster we know her to be in the animated classic. Here's hoping we discover whether she changed her name to something that obviously evil, or whether the deck was truly stacked against her since birth. THR are reporting that at present there is no director attached, although the plan is to begin shooting later this year, so expect that to change very shortly. Saving Mr Banks' writer Kelly Marcel is penning the script. Cruella was last portrayed live on screen by Glenn Close in the 1996 version of 101 Dalmations, and again in 2000 for its sequel. She did a fairly good job, all things considered, but if Emma Stone does bag this role it shouldn€™t be too hard to put her own spin on it. Here€™s hoping the story that Marcel has planned is worth all the rigmarole of slapping Cruella in her own film in the first place.