Emma Stone Closes Deal for ‘Cruella 2’ in Wake of ScarJo

Emma Stone has closed a deal to star in Disney’s “Cruella” sequel, a person with data of the scenario instructed TheWrap on Friday.

The deal comes simply weeks after one other high star, Scarlett Johasson, sued the studio over its hybrid launch technique for “Black Widow” — a big-budget movie that, like “Cruella,” was developed for unique theatrical launch and promised important backend compensation primarily based on field workplace grosses.

“Cruella” was launched on May 28 in theaters and on Disney+, and earned greater than $220 million globally. Since any sequel gained’t be launched for a number of years, it’s not clear if the movie will open completely in theaters, on the Disney+ streaming service or in hybrid launch like the primary one. The studio introduced the sequel in June, shortly after the movie’s launch.

Patrick Whitesell, government chairman of Stone’s expertise company, Endeavor, recommended in a press release that the star’s deal will compensate her no matter what platform the brand new film finally performs.

“While the media landscape has been disrupted in a meaningful way for all distributors, their creative partners cannot be left on the sidelines to carry a disproportionate amount of the downside without the potential for upside,” Whitesell stated. “This agreement demonstrates that there can be an equitable path forward that protects artists and aligns studios’ interests with talent. We are proud to work alongside Emma and Disney, and appreciate the studio’s willingness to recognize her contributions as a creative partner. We are hopeful that this will open the door for more members of the creative community to participate in the success of new platforms.”

It’s not clear if the brand new deal included renegotiated compensation for “Cruella,” whose ticket gross sales had been dampened by the simultaneous streaming launch in addition to the depressed moviegoing this 12 months as theaters had simply begun to reopen at capability.

Since many movies have headed to streaming as a substitute of theatrical within the wake of the pandemic, studios and brokers have begun to barter new phrases for expertise primarily based on whether or not a movie performs completely in theaters, debuts on a streaming service or has a hybrid launch. The two sides are carving out contingencies (and compensation) irrespective of how the movie finally reaches customers.

However, these contingencies weren’t in place for movies like “Black Widow” or “Cruella” that had been greenlit approach earlier than the pandemic disrupted studio launch methods.

“Cruella” additionally starred Emma Thompson, Paul Walter Hauser, John McCrea and Joel Fry. Craig Gillespie directed.

Deadline first reported the information of Stone’s deal.