Angelina Jolie is back as Disney’s Maleficent and she’s facing a new threat to the magical creatures of the moors. The real questions many people are asking are: do people really want a sequel to this film and is four live-action Disney adaptations in one year too many for audiences to handle? To the first question, we’ve only had one example so far of a sequel to a live-action Disney Adaptation and the results weren’t pretty. Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland brought in over a billion dollars at the box office in 2010, but Through the Looking Glass brought in less than $300 Million when it was released in 2016. The first Maleficent had a box office take of around $750 Million. It will be interesting to see what the sequel brings in as far as audience loyalty and ticket sales.
The second big issue is the glut of Live-Action adaptations that Disney is dumping on to the screen this year. We’ve already had Dumbo and we’ll be getting Will Smith’s Aladdin later this month. Then, we’ve still got to get through July’s Lion King remake before we finally get to Maleficent in October. It’s hard to imagine that audiences want to see that many Disney remakes in such a short period. That doesn’t even count the Lady and The Tramp remake that will be popping up on Disney+ in November!
On the upside, we will get plenty of Angelina Jolie vs Michelle Pfeiffer. That’s never a bad thing.
“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” is 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. The film 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. The film is directed by Joachim Rønning from a story by Linda Woolverton and a screenplay by Linda Woolverton and Micah Fitzerman-Blue & Noah Harpster, the film is produced by Joe Roth, Angelina Jolie and Duncan Henderson with Matt Smith, Jeff Kirschenbaum and Michael Vieira serving as executive producers.