The first trailer for Disney’s latest live-action reimagining, Cruella, dropped earlier today, and it promised something a little different from the studio’s usual remakes. Rather than a beat-for-beat redo of an animated classic, Cruella tells the story of how one of the Mouse House’s greatest antagonists became so evil. Seeing as it’s a villain origins story, then, it’s drawing a lot of unexpected comparisons to a certain Warner Bros. flick.
Following the debut of the trailer, “Disney’s Joker” started trending on Twitter as fans couldn’t help but see the similarities between the Emma Stone vehicle and Todd Phillips’ Joker, which explored how the DC bad guy came to be. Set in the fashion scene of 1970s London, Cruella follows Stone’s Estella De Vil as she starts out under fearsome fashion diva the Baroness (Emma Thompson). But her ambition and obsession with fur will prove to be her undoing.
While Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck wasn’t known for his interest in fashion (Cruella probably wouldn’t approve of a purple suit), you can see why folks are making the comparison, and here are just a few of the many tweets about Disney’s Joker going around today.
This is basically Disney’s Joker https://t.co/nHW4RhSRoz
— Greysun Morales (@GreysunMorales) February 17, 2021
Finally… Disney's Joker pic.twitter.com/Fjg2Y2nUQa
— CZAR GHIDORAH (@MNetwork0) February 17, 2021
i see Disney's Joker trending & all I can say is, if the movie ends up being as good as the Joker film, then good. Hope it does well & can't wait to see Emma's performance as Cruella. https://t.co/CgLOh6SB9O
— JFS (@JoseFSa55876365) February 17, 2021
Cruella comes to us from director Craig Gillespie, most known for helming the Oscar-winning I, Tonya, and the fans are fully on board with his vision.
I was definitely not expecting this to be Disney's Joker, but honestly, I'm here for it. I think Emma Stone will own the role of Cruella, and I liked some of the visuals for this trailer. Craig Gillespie feels perfect for this story. https://t.co/mVvHN605P1
— Will Martinez 🎄🎅 (@willmovies) February 17, 2021
Anyone else getting Jared Leto in Zack Snyder’s Justice League vibes?
https://twitter.com/TheLonelyMucc/status/1362065440986464256
To be fair, though, calling it Disney’s Birds of Prey would be a lot more appropriate.
https://twitter.com/kanebonyangsang/status/1362055629624406021
Alternatively, you can call it Disney’s Midsommar.Â
https://twitter.com/pixeljadeart/status/1362064344951922689
Then again, some folks are getting annoyed by all the comparisons to other movies. Let Cruella be its own thing.
All y'all calling the upcoming Cruella film "Disney's Joker" really need to get out more
Watch Maleficent. Watch the musical Wicked. Joker didn't invent the ideas of "tragic backstory" and "two sides to every story" 😑
— Nektis Noir (@NektisNoirVA) February 17, 2021
Emma Stone has been attached to this project for five years now, originally beating out the likes of Charlize Theron and Nicole Kidman to land the iconic role, and she’s joined by Mark Strong, Joel Fry, Paul Walter Hauser, Emily Beecham and Dev Patel. Cruella is currently heading to theaters on May 28th, though it’s possible that it could get a simultaneous release on Disney Plus as well. Watch this space for more.
