When the first trailer for Disney’s live-action origin story Cruella debuted, the internet was quick to make comparisons to Todd Phillips’ Joker, even going so far as to recut the footage with the audio from Joaquin Phoenix’s billion dollar smash hit. As WandaVision‘s Jimmy Woo would say, that’s an oversimplification of events, but the similarities are certainly there on a superficial level.
Of course, it’s not like the Mouse House’s production line of remakes is suddenly going to veer into hard R-rated territory to tell the story of an upstart fashion designer in 1970s London who develops a taste for the criminal life, leading to a fascination with skinning Dalmatians and wearing their coats as part of her ensemble, but it wouldn’t be too hard to make that leap, either.
Every single one of Disney’s live-action remakes was rated PG up until Mulan, which featured intense battle scenes and depictions of warfare, but it’s now been confirmed that Cruella makes it two in a row. As per the MPAA, Craig Gillespie’s film has been awarded a PG-13 for ‘some violence and thematic elements,’ which is admittedly pretty vague, but we are talking about a period piece set in the fashion world that ends up creating a monster by the time the credits roll, so who knows where the story’s headed?
Cruella is slated for a theatrical release on May 28th, but movies are still getting pushed back on a regular basis, meaning there are no guarantees that’s when it’ll arrive. One thing that can almost certainly be promised at this stage, though, is that Emma Stone’s performance will be the undoubted highlight of the pic, with the Academy Award winning actress clearly relishing the chance to chew on the scenery.