Summary
Disney’slive-action reboots of animated classics have divided fans, with some not enjoying them at all while others are happy to embrace something new. However, out of all the movies that Disney has given this treatment to, theMaleficentfilms have proven to be the most popular and widely accepted by fans and critics across the board.
The previous two movies have collectively grossed $1.248 billion at the worldwide box office, proving the success of theseSleeping Beautyspinoffs, which have chosen to focus on the villain. Maleficent’s character has been fleshed out to a whole new level compared to the animation where she originated, and it has proven to be a hit. However, there have been very few details aboutMaleficent 3since it was confirmed to be happening back in 2021, until recently.
Considering how quiet things have been on thisDisney live-action project, there have been some question marks over whether or not it was happening. However, a recentDeadlinereport about Linda Woolverton joining theHundred Acre Wood’s Winnie and Friendsas the executive producer confirmed she’s also going to be theMaleficent 3screenwriter. This would make sense given she wrote the first movie and co-wrote the sequel alongside Noah Harpster and Micah Fitzerman-Blue, but hearing that news as official is something that will certainly give fans of the franchise hope that some progress is now going to take place forMaleficent 3moving forward.
Angelina Jolie has already confirmed she will be reprisingher role as the iconic Disney villainturned antihero, but there are no further details known about this plot at the moment. The stories so far have done a great job of leaning into the source material but also adapting it and taking the movie in a totally new direction. That’s likely one of the reasons why the twoMaleficentmovies have performed well so far: they’re providing fresh content to fans and going outside of the box with the character. Plus, Jolie’s performances as Maleficent have been widely praised.
Considering that Disney is showing no signs of slowing down with its live-action movies, it would make sense to go back to its most successful reboot. Disney has already released a live-actionSnow Whitethis year,withLilo & Stitchsoon to follow, whilethere are plans forTangledandHerculeslive-action movies as wellat some stage in the future. AddingMaleficent 3into that mix would make sense as it continues the trajectory that Disney is heading in at the moment, which is to create a lot of live-action content.
Maleficent 3could choose to maintain the story within theSleeping Beautyworld or expand it to a new location with fresh characters. After getting this far, it would make sense forDisney to broaden the horizonswith this franchise. However, there is still a long way to go beforeMaleficent 3gets off the ground, as even with this news, there has been a worrying lack of updates from Disney about the film.
