It's summer blockbuster season, when superheroes save the world, Tom Cruise risks his life on crazy stunts, and people keep thinking it's a good idea to open Jurassic Park. (Maybe this time the dinosaurs won't kill anyone!) But let's not forget about fairy tales. Before Disney struck gold with the live-action Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast, they made Maleficent, exploring the character of the eponymous villain from Sleeping Beauty.
Maleficent came out in 2014 and was a huge success, raking in over $750 million at the box office. Angelina Jolie starred as the evil fairy Maleficent, who's hellbent on getting revenge on the King, so she curses his infant daughter. (Hey, we've all been there.) Meanwhile, Elle Fanning played Aurora, a sweet, naive princess who's trying to get rid of that whole curse thing. And here's some interesting gossip: After Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie broke up, Brad reportedly dated the 21-year-old actress who played the teenage version of Angelina Jolie's character. (Scandalous!)
Anyway, Elle and Angelina are in London filming Maleficent 2, which picks up several years after the first film. According to Variety, "Maleficent II 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." The movie also stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Ed Skrein, Harris Dickinson, and Michelle Pfeiffer, who will play Queen Ingrith.
On Instagram, Elle shared a selfie from the set, with Angelina waving the peace sign in the background. The actress, director and activist is wearing the iconic black horns with a sunglasses and a white bathrobe, which is a pretty funny contrast. In the caption, Elle jokes that it's "bring your mom to work day!"
In a second photo, Maleficent delivers the "ultimate photobomb." Behind Elle's blond locks, you can see Angelina's devilish horns popping up. In the films, they might share some intense scenes, but on the set, they're having a lot of fun. Reportedly Angelina's kids are all on set as well, doing work in a school trailer. Well, hopefully that trailer is big, because she's got six children: Maddox, 16, Pax, 14, Zahara 13, Shiloh, 12, and 9-year-old twins Knox and Vivenne.
Maleficent 2 will mark Angelina's first time back on screen in three years. She last starred the 2015 romantic drama By The Sea, which she also wrote and directed. After that project, she took some time to focus on humanitarian work, and write and direct the 2017 historical thriller First They Killed My Father.
No official date has been announced for Maleficent yet, but hopefully it's soon. Disney fans are thrilled to see Angelina return; once you've seen her in the horns, fangs and red lipstick, it's hard to imagine anyone else playing the part. And as an additional benefit, after writing this article, I can now spell the word "maleficent" perfectly on first try, without using spell-check. Thanks, Maleficent!
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