Angelina Jolie Confirms Return To ‘Maleficent 2’

The rumblings about whether or not Angelina Jolie will star in Maleficent 2 came to a halt this week, as she has been confirmed to appearing in the movie.

Also on board is Linda Woolverton, the screenwriter for the first film. The first Disney picture grossed $758 million in the box office, but still got mixed reviews.

The director of the first Maleficent, Robert Stromberg, has not yet commented about his impending return (or not) for the follow-up. His original movie expanded on the tragic backstory of the character that was first introduced in the studio’s 1959 animated musical Sleeping Beauty.

Maleficent will join several other Disney movies that are set to have live-action sequels. The studio confirmed it cast Emma Stone to play the Disney villain Cruella de Vil about the hound-hating star of the 101 Dalmatians movies titled Cruella.

The studio is also producing new versions of Tinker Bell with Reese Witherspoon, Dumbo, directed by Tim Burton, and Mary Poppins starring Emily Blunt. A sequel to current box office hit The Jungle Book will also soon come, with original director Jon Favreau set to return.