It’s hard to know what audiences will go for. This spring, Disney learned the hard way that a theme park ride inspired movie starring George Clooney wasn’t what ticket buyers wanted. On the other hand, last summer moviegoers worldwide forked over $758 million dollars to watch Angelina Jolie wave her witchy wand in “Maleficent.” Who knew? And naturally, the studio wants more of the latter.
Deadline reports that the mouse house is conjuring a sequel to “Maleficent.” Linda Woolverton, who wrote the first movie is being assigned the followup gig. She’s a veteran at the studio having penned “The Lion King” and “Alice In Wonderland,” and has upcoming live action efforts “Alice Through The Looking Glass” and “Beauty And The Beast” on her slate as well. Of course, the big question mark will be Jolie, who isn’t signed for a second movie. And while the actress isn’t exactly known for sequels outside of her early days in “Tomb Raider,” I’d wager Disney will make a sweet deal to get her to return.
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No projected release date yet, but I’d assume that once Jolie signs, the entire project will start moving very, very quickly.