After a couple of years where it seemed to not be going anywhere, Disney now appears to be fast-tracking the sequel to 2014’s Maleficent. The original film told the story of Sleeping Beauty’s infamous villain, played in live action form by Angelina Jolie. It was a huge hit, and there were immediate sequel plans, but most of us had assumed they’d petered out.
Not so.
Joachim Ronning, who co-directed last summer’s Pirates Of The Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge, is now in talks to take over the director’s chair on Maleficent 2. Robert Stromberg, who helmed the first film, was not included on the press tour for the first film, and more recently has directed The Martian VR for Fox, and worked on Game Of Thrones visual effects. It’s unclear if he was considered for the Maleficent sequel.
There’s no word yet on when Maleficent 2 will go before the cameras, but it already seems all but certain that Angelina Jolie will return. We’ll keep you posted as we hear more…