The commonly agreed-upon starting point for Disney’s current Live-Action Remake craze is typically 2015’s The Jungle Book, which made a shit-load of cash and prompted the Walt Disney Pictures to look inward in order to fill out their slate for the next couple of years. But we’d actually argue that the now-forgotten box office success Maleficent, which hit theaters the year before, was truly where this nightmare era of ugly-ass stripped-for-parts reboots began. The Angelina Jolie vehicle was rumored to be a disaster in the lead-up to its release, and industry types assumed that it’d be a colossal failure. Oh, how wrong they were: the Sleeping Beauty deconstruction wound up grossing over $758 million worldwide. That was where, we believe, Disney discovered that, as long as the property was familiar, an audience would be there.
So, five years later, after Dumbo and Aladdin have already hit theaters, and with The Lion King and Lady and the Tramp on the way, Maleficent is finally getting a sequel, titled Maleficent: Mistress of Evil and Disney dropped the full-length trailer for it on Monday morning. It’s got Michelle Pfeiffer and Chiwetel Ejiofor (looking straight-up ridiculous, as well) in it, so everything’s not too terrible, we guess. Did anybody really want this sequel? No, but it made money, so it, like Thanos, is inevitable.
Take a look:
Here’s a synopsis (via Birth.Movies.Death):
“The years have been kind to Maleficent and Aurora. Their relationship, born of heartbreak, revenge and ultimately love, has flourished. Yet the hatred between man and the fairies still exists. Aurora’s impending marriage to Prince Phillip is cause for celebration in the kingdom of Ulstead and the neighboring Moors, as the wedding serves to unite the two worlds. When an unexpected encounter introduces a powerful new alliance, Maleficent and Aurora are pulled apart to opposing sides in a Great War, testing their loyalties and causing them to question whether they can truly be family.”
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil hits theaters on October 18.