Disney has released a new Maleficent: Mistress of Evil poster featuring Angelina Jolie’s titular character front and center. The original Maleficent was released in 2014 and offered a revisionist take on the evil fairy character from Disney’s 1959 animation Sleeping Beauty. Rather than a vindictive old hag, Jolie’s Maleficent was far more sympathetic and three-dimensional with a backstory that justified her thirst for revenge and a redemption arc that pitched her more as an anti-hero than an outright villainess.
It was a huge hit and a sequel quickly went into development but given how busy Disney has been with its other live-action remakes, it’s taken some time to properly get off the ground. Now, five years later, the sequel is finally on its way with an official Maleficent: Mistress of Evil trailer that suggests the peace reached between the human and fairy kingdoms at the end of the first film was unfortunately short-lived. Alongside Jolie, other original cast members including Elle Fanning, Sam Riley and Imelda Staunton will also reprise their roles as Princess Aurora, Diaval and Knotgrass, respectively. They’ll be joined by new characters - both human and fairy - played by Michelle Pfeiffer, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Ed Skrein.
A previously released Maleficent 2 poster placed emphasis on its three female stars (Jolie, Fanning and Pfeiffer as Queen Ingrith) but Disney’s latest poster offers a closer look at more of the sequel’s cast and characters. Jolie dominates the poster looking suitably wicked with blood-red lipstick and those dramatic horns. Fanning and Pfeiffer feature too alongside three male cast members - Ejiofor, Skrein and Harris Dickinson who is taking over the role of Prince Phillip from original actor Brenton Thwaites. Check out the Maleficent: Mistress of Evil poster below.
One of the most interesting reveals from the latest Maleficent: Mistress of Evil trailer - alongside the fact that Queen Ingrith is Prince Phillip’s mother and doesn’t seem too keen on fairy folk - was that Maleficent isn’t the only horned fairy in the kingdom after she comes face to face with Ejiofor’s similarly horned character. Disney’s new poster gives us a closer look at Ejiofor’s character - rumored to be called Connal - and suggests his role will be of importance in the sequel.
Another interesting aspect of the new poster is the inclusion of Skrein. It was revealed last year that the Game of Thrones star had been cast as Maleficent 2’s villain though Disney haven’t been very forthcoming with further details about his character. He appears in the poster with huge horns similar to that of Jolie and Ejiofor, which suggests they may all be closely connected. As things are pretty hush-hush about Skrein’s character it’ll be interesting to see how he fits in to the plot when Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is released later this year.
Source: Disney
