Honestly, this took a lot longer than expected, but it’s better late than never. Maleficent, starring Angelina Jolie as the titular character, was one of last summer’s biggest blockbusters. It wasn’t the first Disney live-action adaptation of an animated classic the studio has released, but its huge success has helped launch a slate of live-action adaptations of animated movies that includes this year’s Cinderella, next year’s The Jungle Book, and upcoming films like Beauty and The Beast, Pete’s Dragon, Mulan, Dumbo, Winnie The Pooh, and much more.

Of course the $758 million worldwide box office gross was more than enough reason for Disney to put a Maleficent 2 into development, but not much has changed since the film’s release. Now we are getting word that Disney is in fact developing a sequel, but some of the key members of the creative team might not be returning. More on the story below.

A new poster for Maleficent has been released by Walt Disney, featuring Angelina Jolie as the feared villainess.

The movie is something of a prequel, and also a retelling of Disney’s classic 1959 animated feature, Sleeping Beauty, taking the film’s primary antagonist, Maleficent (Jolie), and telling the story of who she was before, how an act of betrayal turned her heart to stone, and why she ultimately cursed a young princess named Aurora.

You can check out the new poster and read a description below.

Production for the long gestating Maleficent started less than a week ago, and now we are getting a first look at Angelina Jolie as the titular character. Click on the image below for a large view.

Jolie was the perfect fit to play the villainess; her long, slender, and sexy look would provide a fresh take on the classic character. According to Disney, “This is the untold story of Disney’s most beloved villain, Maleficent, from the 1959 classic Sleeping Beauty. The film reveals the events that hardened her heart and drove her to curse the baby, Aurora.”

Walt Disney has settled on an official release date for Maleficent, the retelling of their Sleeping Beauty fable that focuses more on the 1959 animated classic’s villain.

Maleficent is now set to arrive in theaters on March 14, 2014, so anyone who’s been excited to see the movie will have to wait a bit.

The live-action retelling will star Angelina Jolie as the dark fairy Maleficent, Disney’s “ultimate villain.” It will tell the story of how she came to be, and what eventually led her to curse the main character of Sleeping Beauty, Princess Aurora.

Last we heard of the Walt Disney retelling of their animated classic Sleeping Beauty, titled Maleficent, was word back in January that a director had been chosen in Robert Stromberg.

Now comes word that the movie is just about ready to begin production, with filming now scheduled to start in June.

Angelina Jolie stars in the live-action movie, which, as the title indicates, will tell the Sleeping Beauty fable from the point of the villainess Maleficent.