Could Maleficent 2 be in the cards? From what Angelina Jolie said recently, it sounds like it might be. The star of the live-action Disney film didn't state outright that there would be a followup to Maleficent in some form or another, but she sound interested in the possibility of getting to play Maleficent again.
THR shared some quotes from the press conference Angelina Jolie did in China this week, including a remark she made about coming back to the villainous-ish role of Maleficent again. "It's kind of hard to top her," Jolie said. "She was pretty fun. Maybe I'll get the chance to play her again."
She doesn't seem to be committing to anything there, but it does suggest she'd be up for revisiting the character if given the opportunity. And if the box office is any indication -- Maleficent has already grossed more than $75 million domestically and $100 million more overseas -- it's already on track to do well this summer, which might prompt a sequel. It's upcoming arrival into theaters in China and other markets should contribute to that.
We're about to get into spoiler territory here, so if you haven't seen the movie, don't read past this photo. It's a shot of Jolie standing next to the cake she was presented with at the press event to celebrate her birthday, which is today (June 4). THR says along with the cake, the assembled crew and some of the journalists sang "Shengri Kuaile" (Happy Birthday) to Jolie in Chinese.
Ok, let's talk Maleficent sequel potential. Again, spoiler-warning if you haven't seen the movie!
There's certainly room for any kind of sequel for Maleficent, as the lead character survived the first film, and it's now out of Sleeping Beauty territory and into the uncharted happily-ever-after portion of Aurora's adolescence and adulthood, presumably. So what's next? The film set up a visually stunning world full of magical forest creatures. Things would hopefully be at peace between the human world and Maleficent's world, but what if some outside threat showed up and forced the humans and the forest creatures to unite to protect their land? That would be an interesting conflict, especially considering Maleficent might be wary about trusting human allies.
We're wary of trusting sequels. Not all of them are necessary. But there will likely be interest in this one, so it'll be interesting to see if Disney decides to turn Maleficent into a franchise. I liked the original movie more than the critics seemed to in general, but I think I'd prefer a new villain story to follow this one. And then maybe Jolie can return to the role of Maleficent at some point down the line with some kind of live-action all-star Sinister Six-ish Disney villain movie. Too out there?
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Check out more photos of Angelina Jolie at the Shanghai press conference in the gallery below.
