Angelina Jolie will return for “Maleficent 2,” and Elle Fanning better join her

While premiering her new film, First They Killed My Father, at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado over Labor Day weekend, Angelina Jolie revealed that it’s time for her to return to acting. However, the actor, writer, and director’s comeback film won’t be just any movie — since Jolie said she’s working on Maleficent 2 with Disney to Deadline’s Pete Hammond. Although in her Vanity Fair September cover story and in another Telluride interview with The Hollywood Reporter it didn’t seem that Jolie was looking for another movie role, this Maleficent 2 announcement changes things, so rejoice Disney fans!

Disney is pretty busy with live-action remakes of its animated movies and Maleficent, a retelling of Sleeping Beauty from the perspective of the villain, kicked off this latest movie trend. Unlike in the original 1959 animated film, Maleficent in the 2014 movie was much more sympathetic, despite her menacing style, because she genuinely loved and cared for Elle Fanning’s Aurora.

So with the news that Jolie will be in Maleficent 2, we’re obviously hoping that Fanning will be in it, too, to reprise her role as Sleeping Beauty. Because Maleficent needs her Aurora.

Fanning’s involvement is currently unknown, but Jolie confirmed her role to Deadline when she said:

"We have been working on the script and this is going to be a really strong sequel."

Since Maleficent came out in 2014, Jolie has only appeared onscreen in one other film — By the Sea. She starred in the drama with her then-husband Brad Pitt, and she also wrote and directed it. In addition, Angelina voiced her character, Tigress, in the third installment of Kung Fu Panda. Other than that, she has been focusing on directing her passion project, First They Killed My Father. 

Of course, Angelina has also been focusing on her personal life since she separated from Pitt. But she laughingly told Deadline about her return to acting: “I am now the breadwinner for the family so it’s time,” referencing her children with Pitt and their impending divorce.

While it’s probably a long way off, we’re so glad that Jolie is back in the spotlight, and that her return will lead to another Maleficent movie. Because there’s nothing we love more than comeback stories from our favorite female badasses.