By Love it or hate it, Disney’s Maleficent was a massive success – it almost quadrupled its budget when it hit theaters last year and more or less set Disney on its current “live-action remake” trajectory. So it shouldn’t come as any surprise that The Mouse is developing a sequel to one of its biggest non-animated films in recent memory.
According to Deadline, Disney is courting original screenwriter Linda Woolverton to write the sequel, with the intention that star Angelina Jolie would return. However, only Woolverton is confirmed to return at this point – no word yet on whether Jolie will step back into the horned headgear for another go-around, and her doing so would necessitate a new deal.
Obviously there’s likely no movie – at least very little chance of a successful movie – hinges on if Jolie returns, and the actress generally neglects to return for planned sequels (see: Wanted). The original, which took the traditional story of Sleeping Beauty and inverted it to make its villainess a sympathetic character, was a surprise success, and no doubt played a big role in Disney’s recent moves toward further live-action remakes like this year’s Cinderella, as well as upcoming projects like Winnie the Pooh, Mulan and Beauty and the Beast.
[via Deadline]