The Angelina Jolie starring Maleficent II just added even more talent to the Disney live-action adaptation.
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Joining Jolie, Elle Fanning, and Michelle Pfeiffer are stars Chiwetel Ejiofor (Doctor Strange) and Robert Lindsay (Wimbledon). Neither Ejiofor or Lindsay have been attached to specific roles, but we do know a bit more about the film’s plot (via Deadline).
Maleficent II picks up a few years after the original film and will focus on the complex relationship between Maleficent and the eventual Queen. New alliances will be formed and new adversaries will be also be introduced, with the central edict to protect the magical creatures within the moors.
So far the cast includes Jolie, Fanning, Pfeiffer, Ejiofor, Lindsay, and returning stars Sam Riley (Diaval), Imelda Staunton (Knotgrass), Juno Temple (Thistlewit), and Lesley Manville (Flittle), while the sequel will be directed by Joachim Ronning with a screenplay by Jez Butterworth and Micah Fitzerman-Blue.
The first film, which hit in 2014, is one of the initial live-action adaptations to kick off Disney’s recent run, and it was a big success at the box office. Maleficent was produced on a budget of $180 million and easily made that back with a domestic box office of $241 million. It was even more of a beast internationally, bringing in $517 million overseas.
Combined the film managed to collect over $758 million worldwide, and Disney’s claim on the genre has only grown since then. The project was followed by Cinderella and the live-action juggernaut Beauty and the Beast, which brought in over $504 million domestically and over $1.2 billion worldwide. Other projects in the live-action pipeline include The Lion King, Aladdin, Mulan, Christopher Robin, and more.
You can find the official description for the original Maleficent below.
“Maleficent explores the untold story of Disney’s most iconic villain from the classic “Sleeping Beauty” and the elements of her betrayal that ultimately turn her pure heart to stone. Driven by revenge and a fierce desire to protect the moors over which she presides, Maleficent cruelly places an irrevocable curse upon the human king’s newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Aurora is caught in the middle of the seething conflict between the forest kingdom she has grown to love and the human kingdom that holds her legacy. Maleficent realizes that Aurora may hold the key to peace in the land and is forced to take drastic actions that will change both worlds forever.”
Maleficent II currently has no release date.
