Disney showed off new footage from the upcoming Maleficent: Mistress of Evil at this year’s D23 Expo. Disney began developing the sequel to Maleficent in 2015. However, it wasn’t until 2017 when star Angelina Jolie confirmed her involvement with the follow-up to the first film.
The first movie, titled Maleficent, sought to tell the tale of the villain of Disney’s animated feature Sleeping Beauty. In Maleficent, the story follows Maleficent (Jolie) as a fairy who is wronged when a human cuts off her wings. This act becomes the driving force behind her hatred for humans and why she eventually curses Aurora (Elle Fanning), although she and Aurora later become close. In Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, Aurora becomes engaged to Prince Phillip. However, it is his mother, the Queen (Michelle Pfeiffer), that Maleficent finds threatening. In the end, though, Maleficent and Aurora must work together to fight a new evil threatening the fairies.
New footage shown at D23 further outlines how Aurora’s engagement to Prince Phillip causes problems for Maleficent. In the footage, Aurora brings Maleficent to the castle to meet Phillip and his parents. While at dinner, they begin talking about Maleficent’s curse on Aurora, believing it no more than a fairy tale. Maleficent tries to explain how fairies have recently gone missing, stolen away by humans. The King and Queen seem not to care. Eventually, the Queen says that Aurora will finally have a real mother in her life, which angers Maleficent. She stands up and glows green and attacks the party. Other footage shows Chiwetel Ejiofor’s character with horns and an army. Walt Disney Studios also revealed new art for Maleficent: Mistress of Evil at D23:
Like other art and posters released to promote Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, the focus is on the female characters. Although this new art does depict the men in the film, it’s still the women who remain front and center: Jolie, Fanning and Pfeiffer. The story seems to revolve around these three. Trailers also seem to point to the fact that Pfeiffer’s character is the antagonist in the film. Perhaps the Queen is somehow responsible for the missing fairies. If so, do the King and Phillip know about that involvement? And if Phillip is aware, will Aurora still marry him?
The good news is that fans will soon learn the answers to these questions, as well as witness the epic battle that seems to take place between Maleficent and the Queen when Maleficent: Mistress of Evil hits theaters in October.
Next: What To Expect From Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
Source: Walt Disney Studios/Twitter
- Maleficent 2 Release Date: 2019-10-18
