‘Maleficent II’ Gets New Title, Poster, and Release Date
Originally scheduled for release in May 2020, Disney surprised fans today releasing the first teaser poster for Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. In addition to the new title, Disney announced that the fantasy sequel will now hit theaters this year, with a new release date of October 18th, 2019.
The teaser poster features a profile shot of Angelina Jolie’s fallen fairy, almost in silhouette, wearing the villainess’ iconic headdress.
The new subtitle, Mistress of Evil, is an interesting one. Whilst it seems like an obvious choice to anyone familiar with the animated character, the 2014 live action feature depicted Maleficent as a woman who was wronged; vengeful, certainly, but she was ultimately the heroine of the story, not the villain. It made the first film a smash hit at the box office, but did divide Disney fans over the portrayal of the title character. So to call the sequel Mistress of Evil feels like either a little bit of a marketing fake-out or a major spoiler for Maleficent’s character arc in the movie. I’m hoping for the later, I’d love to see Maleficent truly unleash her evil side in this sequel. She’s Disney’s greatest villain, so I hope they let her live up to that in all her live action glory.
The film’s synopsis is as follows:
A fantasy adventure that picks up several years after Maleficent, in which audiences learned of the events that hardened the heart of Disney’s most notorious villain and drove her to curse a baby Princess Aurora, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil continues to explore the complex relationship between the horned fairy and the soon to be Queen, as they form new alliances and face new adversaries in their struggle to protect the moors and the magical creatures that reside within.
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil stars Angelina Jolie and is directed by Joachim Ronning. The fantasy sequel opens October 18th this year.
Chris is a lifelong fan of Disney, Star Wars and super heroes who can’t quite believe this golden age of movies and TV we’re living in. Having written blogs dedicated to Disney’s Aladdin musical and Star Wars Celebration, Chris is excited to be part of the MNN team.
