This week, Disney dropped the first trailer for Cruella, which stars Emma Stone as the woman who would become Cruella De Vil. Stone plays a young grifter named Estella, a wannabe fashion designer who looks to take over the 1970s punk rock revolution in London. Cruella is the third live-action Disney remake that serves as an origin story for an iconic villain, following the first two successful Maleficent films which starred Angelina Jolie in the title role.
While Disney continues to churn out live-action remakes of their animated films, I do prefer an origin story to the same-old story told again and again. And clearly I’m not alone: since its debut yesterday, the trailer has already racked up over 6 million views. And given the popularity of fellow origin stories like Joker and the Star Wars prequels, audiences are clearly clamoring to watch how their favorite villains got so villainous.
Of course, there is already questionable discourse surrounding Cruella: after all, do we really need to find empathy and understanding for a (fictional) woman who wants to murder puppies? But it got us wondering which origin stories we’d like to see Disney tackle. Here are our top suggestions for what Disney should tackle next:
Briana Lawrence:
I want to know the back story for the hunter in Bambi. Like. Does he realize what he’s done? Does he even care? What’s the deal with him? And did he have to force all those good boys (the dogs) to be malicious, too? Those dogs were probably just minding their business when MAN came along and decided to use them to chase after deer, leading up to one of the most tragic deaths in Disney’s ever-growing history of dead parents: Bambi’s mother.
THEN this man came back near the END of the movie to f*ck around some more, like sir, please, who hurt you?
Jessica Mason:
I knew we get hints and summaries of his adventures in Moana, but I could honestly watch and entire movie of Maui’s adventures. Consider the coconut – he invented it! That’s a whole movie right there! Myths and legends are always fun and the Rock can do just about anything so why now more Maui?
Rachel Leishman:
Scar from The Lion King is easily the only villain who deserves an origin story. A look into the life and relationship of Mufasa and Scar as they’re growing up? Seeing Scar’s relationship with Zira and giving us proof that he actually is Kovu’s father? All information that I need and want in my life and I would like it sooner rather than later. Thank you.
Vivian Kane:
I would like to see a prequel to The Sword in the Stone focused entirely on Madam Mim. This is a woman who hates all nice things, who loves the “gruesome and grim,” who proudly describes herself as an “ugly old creep.” I don’t need to know why she’s like this, I just want to see more of it. Just two hours of her turning into apex predators and eating dudes, please. Although she and Merlin clearly have some kind of past drama and I would like to know what that’s about.
Larissa Irankunda:
I would love to see an Ursula origin story. She was such a beautifully nuanced, multifaceted character—I wonder how she got to where she ended up by the time The Little Mermaid began.
Chelsea Steiner:
Disney’s 2000 animated comedy The Emperor’s New Groove remains a cult classic, thanks to snappy writing and delightful voice acting from its stars. I would love to see an Yzma origin story, which would follow the nefarious advisor/surrogate parent’s rise to power. After all, Yzma is not just an advisor – she’s an alchemist, a scientist, and sorceress. And she was voiced by the incomparable Eartha Kitt. Give us a young Yzma series, and why not throw in her first meeting with Kronk for good measure?
Which Disney character do you think deserves an origin story? Let us know in the comments!
(featured image: Disney)
Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!
—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—
