Coming in 2014 from Joe Roth, the producer of Oz the Great and Powerful, is a film that explores the roots of evil. What makes one of the most notorious movie villains of the last century–one who uses magical powers and deception to terrorize a young girl and her compantions? Find out in just less than two years, when Walt Disney Studios releases her story in a film with a one-word title meaning “harmfully malicious.”That’s right–there may not be a film adaptation of Wicked–the runaway bestseller by Gregory Maguire which spawned a mega-hit Broadway show–but that doesn’t mean you won’t see essentially the same story splashed across the screen at your local movieplex on March 14, 2014.Angelina Jolie stars in Maleficent, the story of how Sleeping Beauty’s evil queen got to be so evil. The studio, which announced the March, 2014 release date in a release today, describes the film as follows:
The Walt Disney Studios has announced a U.S. release date of March 14, 2014, for Maleficent, starring Angelina Jolie in the title role as Disney’s ultimate villain. The live-action film explores the origins of the evil fairy Maleficent and what led her to curse Princess Aurora in Disney’s animated classic Sleeping Beauty. Leading a team of visionary filmmakers known for creating and transporting audiences to new and exciting worlds, Academy Award®-winning production designer Robert Stromberg (Avatar, Disney’s Alice in Wonderland and Oz The Great and Powerful) will direct with a script by Linda Woolverton (Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and Alice in Wonderland). Maleficent is produced by Joe Roth (Disney’s Alice in Wonderland and Oz The Great and Powerful).
Take a look at Malificent for a minute–maybe this role explains why Angelina Jolie, who once kicked the crap out of Brad Pitt for fifteen minutes in heels and only left us wondering how he lasted that long, now looks like Lara Croft’s greatest challenge is finding something to eat.
