After a few weeks of casting announcements with very little other information provided, the sequel to 2014's Maleficent – which will now know is going by the vaguely uninspired title Maleficent II is headed into the production phase, with Robert Lindsay added and Chiwetel Ejiofor, who had reportedly been in talks before, confirmed.
With that news comes some concrete detail about the film, which will star a returning Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning as Maleficent and Aurora respectively. The new movie picks up several years after the end of the original and will explore the dynamic between the dark fairy (who was more of a hero than previously portrayed) and the Queen, as they form new alliances and face new threats to the moors and their magical inhabitants.
We also have a proper list of the characters some of the cast will play, including Michelle Pfeiffer as Queen Ingrith, Ed Skrein as a villain and Harris Dickinson as Prince Phillip. Plus Jolie and Fanning aren't alone, as Sam Riley's Diaval, Imelda Staunton's Knotgrass, Juno Temple's Thistlewit and Lesley Manville's Flittle will all return.
Joachim Rønning is in the director's chair at Pinewood, but Disney has yet to confirm a release date for the new adventure.
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