Disney released the first Maleficent trailer this morning, offering the first look at the upcoming deconstruction of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale with a focus on the story’s antagonist, the titular character to be played by Angelina Jolie.
The story finds Maleficent living an idyllic life growing up in a peaceable forest kingdom, until one day when an invading army threatens the harmony of the land. Maleficent, a beautiful, pure-hearted young woman, rises to be the land’s fiercest protector, but she ultimately suffers a ruthless betrayal — an act that begins to turn her pure heart to stone. Bent on revenge, she faces an epic battle with the invading king’s successor and, as a result, places a curse upon his newborn infant Aurora (Elle Fanning). As the child grows, Maleficent realizes Aurora holds the key to peace in the kingdom — and perhaps to Maleficent’s true happiness as well.
What’s most interesting about that synopsis is that it doesn’t seem to represent the Maleficent any of us know from the classic Disney animated film, but it seems to want us to think of the two characters as one and the same. Or, were we always cheering for the wrong person in the 1959 feature?
Along with Jolie and Fanning, Maleficent co-stars Miranda Richardson, Imelda Staunton, Kenneth Cranham, Sam Riley, Sharlto Copley, Lesley Manville and Brenton Thwaites. The film hits theaters on May 30.
Check out the trailer and the poster directly below along with two more new pictures.
