Following yesterday’s first-look set photo, Disney has now officially announced that production is underway on Maleficent II, the sequel to the 2014 box office hit, which sees the return of Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning as the dark fairy Maleficent and Princess Aurora respectively.
The sequel is being directed by Joachim Rønning (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Kon-Tiki) from a script by Linda Woolverton (Alice in Wonderland, Beauty and the Beast) and also features the return of Sam Riley as Diaval, Imelda Staunton as the pixie Knotgrass, Juno Temple as the pixie Thistlewit, and Lesley Manville as the pixie Flittle.
New additions include Michelle Pfeiffer (Murder on the Orient Express, Ant-Man and the Wasp) as Queen Ingrith, Harris Dickinson (The Darkest Minds, Trust) as Prince Phillip, and Chiwetel Ejiofor (Doctor Strange, 12 Years a Slave), Ed Skrein (Deadpool, Game of Thrones) and Robert Lindsay (My Family, Wimbledon) in as yet unrevealed roles.
The official synopsis for Maleficent II reads:
A fantasy adventure that picks up several years after “Maleficent,” in which audiences learned of the events that hardened the heart of Disney’s most notorious villain and drove her to curse a baby Princess Aurora, “Maleficent II” continues to explore the complex relationship between the horned fairy and the soon to be Queen, as they form new alliances and face new adversaries in their struggle to protect the moors and the magical creatures that reside within.
