Cruella was the 2021 film that had previously paired Emily Beecham with director Craig Gillespie. Beecham plays Catherine Miller, the kindhearted dressmaker whose death helps set Estella’s transformation into Cruella in motion.
Gillespie directed the Disney crime comedy from a screenplay by Dana Fox and Tony McNamara. The film stars Emma Stone as Estella/Cruella and Emma Thompson as the fashion-industry rival Baroness von Hellman. Its 1970s London setting and punk-inspired visual style distinguish it from Disney’s earlier animated and live-action adaptations.
The wording can cause a couple of mix-ups. Gillespie also directed I, Tonya and Fright Night, but neither film is the Emily Beecham collaboration asked about here. Cruella is the relevant shared credit, even though Gillespie is behind the camera and Beecham appears in a supporting role.
Cruella was released in 2021 and became one of Disney’s more revisionist villain-origin stories, presenting its title character as a rebellious fashion designer rather than simply the villain of One Hundred and One Dalmatians.