Kon-Tiki co-director Joachim Rønning has handled one big Disney franchise already, collaborating again with Espen Sandberg on Pirates Of The Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge. He's sticking with the Mouse House – though he'll work solo this time – entering negotiations to direct Angelina Jolie in Maleficent 2.
Jolie has said she'll return for the new movie, which is still largely under wraps, plot-wise, but has a script that has seen work from Linda Woolverton and Jez Butterworth. From the looks of the schedule for this one, it would leapfrog other projects that Rønning is considering, including an adaptation of Michael Crichton's Micro and an original idea called Origins. The aim is to kick off shooting early next year, which means it could potentially be in cinemas for 2019.
The first Maleficent earned $758.5 million globally, so Disney will hope for big things from the follow-up.
Angelina Jolie Considering The Maleficent Sequel And Other Movies
Pirates Of The Caribbean*'s Joachim Rønning Directing *Micro