Disney's Maleficent II Starts Filming; Full Cast Confirmed

Maleficent

Disney has officially begin take the live - action sequel toMaleficent , which is now formally titledMaleficent II . The originalMaleficentwas release in theaters in 2014 and asterisk Angelina Jolie as the eponymous horned pouf , opposite Elle fan as Sleeping Beauty herself , Princess Aurora . Maleficent , unlike the Mouse House ’s 1959 animatedSleeping Beautyfilm , paints the titular villain in a far more kindly spark , portray her as more of a victim of circumstance who turns evil after suffering a horrific betrayal at the hands of her puerility smasher - Aurora ’s own father , King Stefan ( Sharlto Copley ) .

Since King Stefan , in classic Disney scoundrel manner , fell to his death at the end ofMaleficent , Copley wo n’t be reprising his role in the continuation . Jolie and Fanning are both back , however , and are joined inMaleficent IIby big name actor likeMichelle Pfeffier as Queen Ingrith , a new accession to the story . Also bring together theMaleficentensemble in the followup is Jolie’sSaltcostar andDoctor StrangeveteranChiwetel Ejioforas a character whose name remains under - wraps for the time being , but is bruit to be a romantic transparency for Jolie ’s ( formerly ? ) dark queer in the film .

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The Mouse House has affirm thatMaleficent IIis now in production at the UK ’s Pinewood Studios , with a mold that includesDeadpool ’s Ed Skrein(who is reportedly playing the movie ’s baddie ) , as well as the aforementioned actors . Other now - confirmed roll members for the continuation include Robert Lindsay ( Galavant ) and Harris Dickinson ( Trust ) as Prince Phillip , a role that was previously played by Brenton Thwaites in the firstMaleficent . Also repeat theirMaleficentroles in the sequel are Sam Riley as Diaval , as well as Imelda Staunton , Lesley Manville , and Juno Temple as the pixies Knotgrass , Flittle , and Thistlwit , severally . you’re able to check out the synopsis forMaleficent IIbelow , follow by the first official gear up pic :

A fancy adventure that picks up several age after “ Maleficent , ” in which audience learned of the events that temper the heart of Disney ’s most ill-famed villain and force her to cuss a baby Princess Aurora , “ Maleficent II ” continues to explore the complex relationship between the horned fairy and the before long to be Queen , as they form new alliance and face new adversaries in their struggle to protect the moors and the witching creatures that domiciliate within .

Maleficentscreenwriter Linda Woolverton also came back to cowrite the subsequence withTransparentseries writers Micah Fitzerman - Blue and Noah Harpster ( who also played Francis on the Amazon drollery / drama series ) . Meanwhile , Joachim Rønning will be calling the guesswork on his own this prison term around , having previously worked with manager Espen Sandberg on the acclaimed indie dramaKon - Tikiand multiple episode of Netflix’sMarco Poloseries . The twosome made the leap to the humanity of big - budget movie making last year , with their effort on Disney ’s sequelPirates of the Caribbean : Dead Men Tell No Tales .

Although critics were overall lukewarm on the originalMaleficentfour years ago , the moving picture grossed an telling $ 758 million in theaters worldwide and was praise for attempting to reimagine theSleeping Beautystory as a more progressive faerie narration parable about such punishing subjects as sexual ravishment and excited trauma . It will be interesting to see howMaleficent IIbuilds on those themes ; not only because the story will be amply original this time around , but also because the sequel is descend out in the post-#MeToo era of Hollywood , where discussions about these issue are very much in the public eye . For that same grounds , now might well prove to be the perfect time for the horned fairy to make her return to the big screen .