Emma Stone just keeps racking up accolades. Her performance in Bugonia earned her a fifth acting Oscar nomination this year, adding to the two statues she already has for La La Land and Poor Things. It’s easy to forget amid all that prestige work that Stone also spent time as one of Disney’s most stylish villains, but Cruella De Vil might not be done with her yet.
Stone played the title role in 2021’s Cruella, director Craig Gillespie’s live-action prequel to 101 Dalmatians. A sequel has been rumored for years without much movement, but Gillespie finally addressed it directly. Asked point-blank, “Are we going to see a Cruella 2 at any point?” in a new interview with The Playlist, he said: “It’s possible. That’s going to be something else that’s on the agenda.”
Gillespie is currently busy with Supergirl, having directed the second film in James Gunn’s new DCU, while Stone remains one of the busiest actresses in Hollywood, her ongoing collaborations with director Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things, Bugonia, The Favourite) show no signs of slowing down. Any Cruella follow-up will have to wait its turn on both of their calendars.
Cruella stood out from Disney’s usual live-action remake formula by reinventing its villain rather than retracing the animated original beat for beat. Set in 1970s London, it follows aspiring designer Estella as she transforms into the fashion-world provocateur Cruella, squaring off against legacy designer the Baroness (Emma Thompson) through a series of increasingly bold public stunts.
The film, which also starred Joel Fry and Kirby Howell-Baptiste, earned an Oscar nomination for Best Costume Design and grossed $233.5 million worldwide against a roughly $100 million budget — a solid result given it hit theaters while the industry was still recovering from COVID-era shutdowns.
A sequel was confirmed not long after Cruella‘s release, but it’s remained stuck in development since. Stone said as recently as 2024 that she’d still like to return to the role. Presumably, a second film would continue following Cruella’s fashion ambitions and criminal exploits. Rumors once floated that Taylor Swift was being eyed for a villainous role, though that always seemed like a long shot.
For now, Stone has The Catch with director Dave McCary and an untitled Miss Piggy film in the works, while Gillespie has projects of his own in development. Still, there’s a real chance Cruella returns to stir up trouble at Disney again with her signature “little bit mad” designs.
Cruella is streaming now on Disney+.
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