Angelina Jolie has signed on to reprise her titular role in a third live-action Maleficent movie. The Oscar-winning actress revealed the news during an interview with the Wall Street Journal, which was published yesterday, December 5.
Jolie didn’t share any more details about the franchise’s second follow-up, including any other casting announcements or a release date, during the interview. Her revelation comes nine years after the release of the series’ first installment in May 2014.
Maleficent is a live-action retelling of 1959’s Sleeping Beauty. The fantasy film was written by Linda Woolverton and directed by Robert Stromberg. Besides Jolie, the drama also starred Elle Fanning as Aurora/Sleeping Beauty, Sharlto Copley as Stefan, Lesley Manville as Flittle, Imelda Staunton as Knotgrass, Juno Temple as Thistlewit and Sam Riley as Diaval.
Besides playing the eponymous role, Jolie also served an executive producer on Maleficent. The movie made $758.5 million at the global box office against a budget of approximately $180 million.
The film’s first sequel, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, was released five years later, in October 2019. Joachim Rønning took over the franchise’s directing duties, while Jolie, Fanning, Staunton, Manville, Riley and Temple all reprised their respective roles in the follow-up. The franchise’s second entry added Michelle Pfeiffer as Queen Ingirth, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Conall and Ed Skrein as Borra joined the cast.
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil made less than its predecessor at the global box office; it earned $491.7 million against a budget of $186 million.
The first Maleficent movie retells the story of Sleeping Beauty from the point of view from the iconic Disney villain. It also offers viewers a look into the origin story of Sleeping Beauty’s adversary.
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is set five years after the events of its predecessor. The sequel reunites Maleficent and Aurora (Fanning) as they battle against Queen Ingrith (Pfeiffer).
At the end of the follow-up, Maleficent promises to return to Aurora and Philip for the christening of their future child. That offers a potential story for the upcoming third installment in the series: Aurora and Phillip are new parents, and Maleficent returns to congratulate them.
During her interview with the Wall Street Journal, Jolie also hinted that she wants to eventually retire from acting. But she added that she has “signed on to act in several more (films), including a third Maleficent.”
Jolie also noted that she plans to leave Los Angeles, which she described as being unhealthy. She hopes to instead spend more time at her home in Cambodia.
The Golden Globe-winning actress admitted that she believes Hollywood is a shallow place. As a result, she added that she likely never would have become an actress if she was entering the industry today.
Jolie’s parents, Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand, were both actors themselves. Since Jolie grew up around Hollywood, she was never very impressed with it as a result. “I never bought into it as significant or important,” she said during the interview.
The SAG Award-winning actress admitted that if she were to start all over today, she likely wouldn’t choose acting as her profession. She noted her thought stems from the expectation to share intimate details about their personal life that comes with being a famous person, especially on social media.
Jolie added: “When I was starting out, it wasn’t as much of an expectation to be as public, to share so much.
“If the Emmy-nominated performer does take a break from acting, that doesn’t mean she will stop working altogether. She noted: “I can’t stop. I always think there’s a fight coming.”