Barb and Star go to Disney and live happily ever after…? We may not get the Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar sequel we want (fingers crossed!), but at least we’ll get its comedy duo together again, this time working on a Disney live-action project.
Fresh off the critical success of sleeper hit Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo are reuniting to make a live-action movie about Cinderella’s evil stepsisters for Disney, Deadline reports. The Barb and Star stars and writers (who were also nominated for an Oscar for their Bridesmaids screenplay) are reportedly co-writing the still-untitled film, which is in very early development.
It’s unknown whether Wiig and Mumolo will also star in the film, though insiders tell Deadline that the plan is for the stepsisters to be played by younger actresses. That doesn’t rule out random cameos or evil stepmother appearances from either Wiig or Mumolo, though.
Per Deadline, the movie is a “fairy tale musical comedy that re-imagines the Cinderella classic from the point of view of her infamous evil stepsisters. Spanning their early childhood through the marriage of their universally beloved stepsister and beyond, we follow Anastasia and Drizella Tremaine as they struggle to uphold their family’s legacy.”
Jessica Elbaum and Will Ferrell from Gloria Sanchez Productions will produce the movie.
From the vague details, it’s clear that this is based on the Disney version of the Cinderella fairy tale, as Anastasia and Drizella Tremaine were the names of the stepsisters in the 1950 animated film. However, it’s not unusual for at least one of the stepsisters of the Cinderella story to be treated with a sympathetic light, like in films like Ever After. The characters from the 1950 Cinderella have been given something of a redemption arc in the straight-to-video Cinderella animated sequels, too. (Don’t ask why I know this.)
But it seems like villain redemptions is Disney’s thing now that the straightforward live-action remake well has run dry. The Emma Stone-starring Cruella gives an origin story to the devilish antagonist of 101 Dalmatians, while the studio is also developing Gaston and LeFou, a Beauty and the Beast prequel TV series for Disney+ with Luke Evans and Josh Gad reprising their roles. The idea also seems popular outside of Disney, with Netflix making its own Cinderella’s stepsisters movie with its own SNL alum working behind the scenes to bring that film to life.
But Barb and Star have gotten people excited for another Wiig-Mumolo project, though I know people were hoping for them to make a new Muppets movie for Disney. The two long-time friends wrote Bridesmaids, scoring an Oscar nod and a huge box office hit, before reteaming a decade later for Barb and Star, which became a VOD and word-of-mouth hit. Hopefully many more collaborations are to come.
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