Angelina Jolie will reprise her role as the live-action version of one of Disney’s most memorable villains, Maleficent.
The sequel to the 2014 film is titled Maleficent: Mistress of Evil and will come to movie theaters on October 18, which Walt Disney Studios announced on Wednesday. According to Variety , the release date for the film was pushed up from its May 2020 date. This way, the film won’t have to compete with other anticipated movies set for the same time frame, including the Spongebob movie and Fast & Furious 9 . However, Maleficent will be pitted against the second opening weekends of films like The Addams Family , the adaptation of Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch, Zombieland 2, and Gemini Man, a futuristic thriller that unites Will Smith and Ang Lee.
The first Maleficent was a dark fantasy film inspired by the Disney adaptation of Sleeping Beauty . The film chronicles Maleficent’s journey to becoming who she is, as well as her path to curse an infant princess. It’s discovered in the film that the princess, Aurora (Elle Fanning), is actually the only one who can help Maleficent deal with her troubled past and wicked mind. The film received 42 award nominations, including an Academy Award nod for Best Costume Design, according to IMDB. Maleficent was also a box office treasure when it opened, as it grossed $758.5 million globally on a $180 million budget. Jolie said in a 2014 interview with Collider that she was originally nervous to take on the iconic role.
“Part of the thing with this role is that you realize that there’s no half-way. If you’re going to do it, you can’t kinda do it,” Jolie said. “You have to just go fully into it and enjoy it. The original was done so well, and her voice was so great, and the way she was animated was so perfect that, if anything, I just was worried that I’d fail the original. But, I practiced a lot with my children. When I got them laughing, I figured that I was on to something.”
‘Maleficent 2’ Gets New Release Date, Moves Up 7 Months https://t.co/VZs1FVa3N4
— Variety (@Variety) March 6, 2019
Angelina Jolie returns in Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. Coming to theaters October 18, 2019. pic.twitter.com/KikT5htvJl
— Walt Disney Studios (@DisneyStudios) March 6, 2019
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil also has a new poster to promote the film, which was released on Wednesday. The movie will be getting a new director in the form of Joachim Ronning ( Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Men Tell No Tales ). Linda Woolverton is coming back as a screenwriter for the second installment, along with Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster. Fanning will reprise her role as one of Disney’s notable princesses and will be joined by Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, and Lesley Manville. Michelle Pfeiffer, Ed Skrein, Harris Dickinson, and Chiwetel Ejiofor will be new additions to the franchise.
