For a long time, Disney’s live-action take on Maleficent only had a script by Linda Woolverton and the fevered hope that it could feature Angelina Jolie as the iconic villain. Things have moved on significantly since then, as it has a director in Robert Stromberg, a rough start date for him to begin shooting and Elle Fanning in talks to play Princess Aurora.
If she makes a deal, Fanning will the Sleeping Beauty to Jolie’s malevolent, grudge-bearing fairy, who curses her to snooze for decades. Such is Maleficent’s wrath that she has the occasional habit of turning into a dragon when really, truly angry. While the full details aren’t yet available, the Heat Vision Blog reports that Woolverton’s script explores the story from the fairy’s point of view, and digs into the complicated relationship between the princess and her nemesis.
Visual effects/production design veteran Stromberg is now in the UK, making preparations to kick off shooting this June in London.
Fanning was last seen in Super 8 and will next crop up over here in Cameron Crowe’s We Bought A Zoo, which arrives next week on March 16.