Maleficent: Mistress of Evil

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is an American epic dark fantasy film released on October 18, 2019. As the official sequel to Maleficent, Angelina Jolie returns to portray the titular role of the same name, along with Elle Fanning.

Synopsis
A fantasy adventure that picks up several years after Maleficent, in which audiences learned of the events that hardened the heart of Disney's most notorious villain and drove her to curse a baby Princess Aurora, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil continues to explore the complex relationship between the horned fairy and the soon to be Queen, as they form new alliances and face new adversaries in their struggle to protect the moors and the magical creatures that reside within.

Cast

 * Angelina Jolie as Maleficent
 * Elle Fanning as Aurora
 * Michelle Pfeiffer as Queen Ingrith
 * Chiwetel Ejiofor as Conall
 * Sam Riley as Diaval
 * Ed Skrein as Borra
 * Harris Dickinson as Prince Phillip
 * Imelda Staunton as Knotgrass
 * Juno Temple as Thistlewit
 * Lesley Manville as Flittle
 * Robert Lindsay as King John
 * Warwick Davis as Lickspittle
 * Jenn Murray as Gerda
 * David Gysai as Percival
 * Judith Shekoni as Shrike
 * Kae Alexander as Ini
 * Miyavi as Udo

Development
Screenwriter Linda Woolverton returned to write the sequel with Angelina Jolie reprising her title role, with Elle Fanning who also reprised Aurora. Joe Roth returned as the producer.

Joachim Rønning, director of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, directed the sequel. Production began in April 2018.

Since May 2018, it was reported that Chiwetel Ejiofor was in talks to play an unknown character in the upcoming sequel.

Release
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil was originally scheduled for theatrical release on May 29, 2020, until it was moved up to October 18, 2019. The teaser trailer was released on May 13, 2019, and the official trailer was released on July 8.

Reception
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 41% based on 208 reviews, with a weighted average of 5.16/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "While it's far from cursed, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil too rarely supports its impressive cast and visuals with enough magical storytelling to justify its existence." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average of 43 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Trivia

 * This is the second sequel to a Disney live-action adaptation of an animated film after 102 Dalmatians.
 * Harris Dickinson is taking over the role of Prince Phillip from Brenton Thwaites due to the latter's scheduling conflicts with the web series Titans.
 * Angelina Jolie and Chiwetel Ejiofor previously collaborated in the 2010 film Salt.
 * This is Chiwetel Ejiofor's second role in a Disney live-action adaptation in the same year of 2019, following his voice role as Scar in the live-action remake of The Lion King.
 * The title Mistress of Evil was used for some foreign language versions of the first Maleficent film.
 * This is the second sequel to a Disney live-action adaptation of an animated film to not have its music score composed by the same composer as its predecessor (James Newton Howard scored the previous film while Geoff Zanelli takes over for this film) after 102 Dalmatians (which was scored by David Newman).
 * In addition, this is the second live-action adaptation that Geoff Zanelli has composed and scored, after Christopher Robin.
 * Also, this is the second film that Joachim Rønning and Geoff Zanelli have worked together after Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.
 * Due to being released on the same day as Fox Searchlight Pictures' Jojo Rabbit, this marks the last time Disney theatrically releases both films on the same day. It is also the last time both a Disney film and a Fox film in general are theatrically released on the same day, due to conflicting schedule changes by Disney (which acquired 21st Century Fox, including 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight Pictures, back on March 20, 2019) and the fact that Disney will continue to release Disney films and Fox films on separate days from November 2019 onward.
 * Both Imelda Staunton and Warwick Davis previously worked in the Harry Potter franchise as Dolores Umbridge, Filius Flitwick, and Griphook, respectively.
 * Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Angelina Jolie all have roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Ejiofor plays Baron Mordo, Pfeiffer portrays Janet van Dyne, and later Jolie has been cast as Thena in Eternals.