LOS ANGELES:

Joel Fry is set to play Jasper in Disney’s “Cruella”, a live-action origin story based on the classic “101 Dalmatians” villain Cruella de Vil.

In the original cartoon, Jasper was one of the bumbling crooks who along with his cohort Horace, kidnapped the 101 dalmatians for Cruella De Vil. Paul Walter Hauser will be playing Horace in the upcoming film. Emma Stone is portraying Cruella De Vil, the villain who is obsessed with capturing the titular puppies. The cast also includes Emma Thompson.

“Cruella”, directed by “I, Tonya” filmmaker Craig Gillespie, will hit theaters Dec 23, 2020.

Tony McNamara penned the most recent version of the script, with Dana Fox having written a previous draft. Marc Platt, Kristin Burr and Andrew Gunn are producing the film.

Live-action adaptations of Disney classics have continued to be a major money-maker for the studio with “Aladdin” and “The Lion King” both crossing the billion dollar mark at the global box office. (RTRS)