Hang onto your horns — the Mistress of All Evil is returning to a theater near you in the not-too-distant future. After months of rumors, Disney confirmed on Monday, April 25, that Angelina Jolie is set to reprise her role as Maleficent in the sequel to 2014's live-action fantasy film.
Jolie's involvement in the project was the subject of speculation as far back as June 2015, but the studio had yet to say for sure whether she would sign on for a second movie. The Wrap reported she was expected to return but did not have a deal in place, while Deadline pointed out that she declined sequels to both Salt and Wanted.
According to Disney's release, screenwriter Linda Woolverton — who penned the script for the first movie — will be back to write the second. No release date has been set.
Jolie, 40, addressed the idea of reprising the role of Sleeping Beauty's famed villain back in 2014, when Maleficent first came out, telling USA Today that she would "possibly" don the costume again.
"I don't know. I enjoyed it. I just feel like we did this one thoroughly and I don't think there'd be another," she said. "I feel like this is the one, if I was going to ever do a Disney one, this is the one I wanted to do. And I think we've done it well."
She has also spoken about wanting to move away from acting to focus more on her work behind the camera. "I see myself moving into directing more and doing much less as an actor," the By the Sea filmmaker told Entertainment Weekly in November 2014. "I have a few more in me, ones I have been developing for some time, so I will do those before I step away."
