Five years after the original, Disney has released a teaser-trailer for the sequel to Maleficent. Angelina Jolie and her giant horn-wig are there, as is Michelle Pfeiffer, who seems to be very nice, but that’s probably a ploy.
The backstory, in case you need a refresher from 2014, is that the Sleeping Beauty villain used to be some sort of fairy-child mayor who, in the words of Lindy West, “spends her time flapping around, giving advice, lovin’ life, and occasionally ejecting a human intruder who’s bopped over to yoink some treasure from the Pond of Jewels. Typical big government fairy bureaucracy.”
Sounds nice, right? It was! Until, in a very dark twist for a Disney movie, Maleficent is drugged by a man she trusted, who cut off her wings while she was unconscious. Yes, it is a metaphor for rape. Suffice to say things were far less rosy from there on out.
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is directed by Joachim Rønning. In addition to Jolie and Pfeiffer, the cast will include Elle Fanning as Princess Aurora, plus Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sam Riley, Harris Dickinson, Ed Skrein, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, and Lesley Manville.
A press release from Disney says only that 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.”