When is Maleficent: Mistress of Evil released in cinemas? Who’s in the cast and what’s it about?
Angelina Jolie's witch is back for round two in sequel to the Sleeping Beauty reimagining
Angelina Jolie’s role as the titular witch in Disney’s 2014 film Maleficent reimagined the backstory of the villain from Sleeping Beauty. Now, she’s back for a sequel with Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, and here’s everything we know about it:
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When is Maleficent: Mistress of Evil released in cinemas?
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is released on Friday 18th October 2019 in the UK and USA. It was originally planned for 29th May 2020 before the release date was moved up seven months.
Who is in the cast of Maleficent: Mistress of Evil?
Angelina Jolie reprises her role as the witch Maleficent, as does Elle Fanning as Princess Aurora, better known as Sleeping Beauty. Also returning are Sam Riley as Maleficent’s pet raven, Diaval, and Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple and Lesley Manville as Aurora’s fairy godmothers. Harris Dickinson takes over from Brenton Thwaites in the role of Prince Phillip.
Michelle Pfeiffer joins the cast as Queen Ingrith, as well as Robert Lindsay, who plays her husband King John. Ed Skrein and Chiwetel Ejiofor, star of 12 Years a Slave, are also on board in unspecified roles.
Disney has released new promo photos showing the main cast members too.
What is Maleficent: Mistress of Evil about?
Mistress of Evil picks up several years after Maleficent, in which we learnt of the events that led to Angelina Jolie’s witch cursing Princess Aurora. The first film ended on a happy note as Maleficent restored her magical kingdom of the Moors to its former beauty, and crowned Aurora queen to unite it with the human kingdom.
Details of the sequel are scant so far, but it’s going to involve Maleficent and Aurora making alliances to combat new enemies. It's also been revealed that Prince Phillip's marriage proposal to Aurora is to really set things in motion.
Here's a brand new poster to get you excited...
What have the cast members said about Maleficent: Mistress of Evil?
Angelina Jolie has said that at its core, "In this film we pose the question, 'is Maleficent good enough to be Aurora’s mother?'"
At CinemaCon in 2019, Elle Fanning said: "Aurora and Maleficent love each other so much, but there is a huge divide between them. Maleficent is still a little wary of humans. Aurora’s dealing with the burden of coming into this new life to be this cookie cutter royal which is not what Aurora is."
Who is writing and directing Maleficent: Mistress of Evil?
Norwegian director Joachim Rønning, who co-directed Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, takes over from Robert Stromberg as director for Mistress of Evil. The screenplay was written by Linda Woolverton, Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster.
Is there a trailer for Maleficent: Mistress of Evil?
There is indeed. The first official teaser showed the Disney fairy getting back to her wicked ways...
Followed by a full-length trailer which offers up a deeper insight into the plot:
Disney has also dropped a behind-the-scenes feature, featuring cast soundbites and offering up more tantalising glimpses at the sequel.
What other Disney remakes are released in 2019?
Starting with Dumbo, 2019 is a big year for Disney's live-action reworking of its stable of classics. The Lion King and Aladdin have also lit up the big screen this year, with Maleficent: Mistress of Evil still to come.
