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Glenn Close Cruella D23 return gave Disney fans an unexpected connection between the original live-action 101 Dalmatians films and the company’s next generation of villain-focused attractions. Close surprised the audience by appearing in character as Cruella De Vil during Disney’s D23 event, decades after she first played the fur-obsessed fashion villain on screen.
EW reported that Close wore a vintage Cruella costume supplied by Disney’s archive team and stayed in character during the presentation for the planned Villains Land expansion. She later joked that one detail was wrong: her eyeshadow was red rather than Cruella’s signature green.
The small makeup mistake did little to weaken the moment. Close’s return worked because audiences immediately recognized the visual language of the character: the dramatic black-and-white hair, severe fashion and exaggerated confidence that helped make her version of Cruella memorable in the 1996 film and its 2000 sequel.
Close has continued to move between major studio projects and prestige television. Wowplus previously covered the casting changes around Hulu’s All’s Fair, which also brought Glenn Close into a high-profile ensemble. Her D23 appearance is different in tone, but it shows how a performer can carry several distinct screen identities at once.
Why Glenn Close’s Cruella still connects with Disney fans
Close’s Cruella was deliberately larger than life. The performance was physical, theatrical and often funny, making the character threatening without turning the films into straight horror. That balance helped the live-action version stand apart from the animated original while still feeling recognizable to audiences who knew Disney’s earlier villain.
The costume design was also central to the character. Cruella’s clothes were not background decoration; they communicated wealth, obsession and control. Close’s return at D23 therefore did not require a long scene or new story. The silhouette alone was enough to signal who had entered the stage.
That kind of recognition is valuable for Disney as it develops theme-park attractions around villains. Theme parks depend on characters that can be understood quickly in physical spaces. A guest does not need to have watched every film recently to recognize Cruella, Maleficent or other major antagonists when the design is strong enough.
Disney has also revisited Cruella through newer interpretations. Wowplus shared the trailer for Emma Stone’s 2021 Cruella film, which reimagined the character’s beginnings through fashion, ambition and rivalry. Close served as a producer on that reboot, creating a direct link between her version and the modern franchise.
Villains Land gives the appearance a larger purpose
Close’s D23 return was not only nostalgia. It was part of the presentation for Disney’s planned Villains Land, an expansion built around some of the company’s best-known antagonists. Entertainment Weekly reported that the project will draw from at least 13 villains, giving Disney a chance to create an area with a darker visual identity than many of its existing lands.
That makes Cruella a useful ambassador even though she does not use magic or command a fantasy kingdom. Her personality is instantly readable, and her fashion-first design gives the character a different flavor from supernatural villains. She brings glamour, comedy and menace rather than spells or monsters.
The land also reflects a broader change in how entertainment companies use older characters. A villain who appeared in a film decades ago can now move between streaming libraries, merchandise, theme parks, social clips and surprise convention appearances. The character becomes an asset that can be revived in different formats without requiring a new movie every time.
For Close, that gives her performance unusual longevity. She first played Cruella when live-action remakes were far less common than they are now. Her version has since become part of a larger Disney cycle that includes prequels, reboots and park experiences, allowing the character to reach people who may not have been born when the first film opened.
The return also shows the value of a memorable screen villain
Actors often become closely associated with heroic roles, but villains can be even harder to replace in the public imagination. A distinctive voice, costume or mannerism can remain familiar long after the plot details fade. Close’s Cruella benefits from all three.
The D23 appearance also let Close participate without pretending that no time had passed. At 79, she returned as an older version of the character and treated the moment with humor. That made the performance feel celebratory rather than like an attempt to recreate the 1990s exactly.
Her willingness to joke about the red eyeshadow was part of that tone. The detail mattered enough for fans to notice, but Close framed it as a playful production oversight rather than a serious problem. That response kept attention on the fun of seeing the character again.
It also adds another chapter to a career built on range. Close can move from serious dramas to television, stage work and a knowingly extravagant Disney villain without one role completely replacing the others. Few performers have a character visually strong enough to work as a surprise reveal nearly 30 years later.
Could Close play Cruella again beyond D23?
Close has previously expressed interest in revisiting the character in a new story, including an idea that would bring Cruella to New York. The D23 appearance does not confirm another film, and Disney has not announced a new Close-led Cruella project. Still, the response demonstrates that the audience recognition remains strong.
A future return would also exist alongside Emma Stone’s younger version rather than necessarily replacing it. Disney has already shown that different interpretations of the same character can coexist when they serve different stories and generations of viewers.
For now, the practical purpose of the appearance was Villains Land, and that alone gives the moment more weight than a simple anniversary cameo. Disney used one of its most recognizable live-action villains to introduce a physical space built around the appeal of characters audiences are usually told to fear.
Glenn Close Cruella D23 return therefore works on two levels: it is a nostalgic surprise for people who remember her films and a reminder that Disney’s villains remain commercially and creatively useful long after their original stories end. Even with the wrong eyeshadow color, Close needed only a costume, a pose and a few lines to make Cruella instantly recognizable again.
Isiagu Tobby
Wowplus editorial contributor.
