We’ve walked with you once upon a dream, and we know it’s true that visions are seldom all they seem, but what about keeping the fantasy of a Maleficent 3 release date alive?
Disney does love returning to the classics, after all. Now, were Maleficent 1 and 2 the House of Mouse’s best movies? No. But at least they conjured a new spell from the remains of the classic animation instead of regurgitating its story play-by-play for new movies. This makes it one of the few worthwhile Disney live-action remakes, and we’re not opposed to being enchanted again.
Maleficent 3 release date speculation
Maleficent 3 couldn’t be released until late 2025 at the earliest.
If Disney does give it the green light (a fair possibility given that both previous movies made a healthy profit), talks would need to take place with star Angelina Jolie, writers would need to be hired, and a director found to helm it. All of this takes time for a large undertaking such as this. If it goes ahead, we wouldn’t expect it before the fall or winter of 2025.
That being said, we disagree that ‘no news is good news.’ We’ve not heard a peep about any official planning, meaning there’s a chance it’ll never come to fruition.
Who’s in the Maleficent 3 cast?
We’re confident Maleficent 3 wouldn’t go ahead without Angelina Jolie leading the cast as the titular villain. We’d also hope Elle Fanning and key familiar faces return with her.
Maleficent 3 without Jolie as one of the best Disney villains would be pointless and disappoint those of us who recognize a slay when we see it. We think plans would be scrapped should she not be on board.
She has an action flick lined up with Halle Berry we’d kill to see and we’re also expecting to hear her voice in Kung-Fu Panda 4, but Jolie has taken a back seat from acting in the last decade.
With her saying yes to the Berry film and cozying up to Disney by joining the MCU, though, it’s possible she has decided to get back into the swing of things more consistently. The Maleficent movies have been her most significant in the 2010s, so it’s possible she’d say yes.
The rest of the cast is more up in the air, but we assume Fanning would be asked back as Aurora, as the mother/daughter dynamic between the Disney princess and Maleficent is central to the films.
Here’s the possible Maleficent 3 cast list:
- Angelina Jolie as Maleficent
- Elle Fanning as Aurora
- Chiwetel Ejiofor as Conall
- Sam Riley as Diaval
- Ed Skrein as Borra
- Harris Dickinson as Prince Phillip
- Imelda Staunton as Knotgrass
- Juno Temple as Thistlewit
- Lesley Manville as Flittle
- Michelle Pfeiffer as Ingrith
- Aline Mowat as the Narrator
What is Maleficent 3 about?
We think Maleficent 3 could explore a new threat to the peace of the kingdoms we saw established in Mistress of Evil.
At the end of the last film, Maleficent gives Aurora and Prince Phillip her blessing and transforms Michelle Pfeiffer’s (former) Queen Ingrith into a goat as punishment for her schemes. This paves the way for Pfeiffer to be involved still, even if she is in the background — these movies do love a tragic lady, after all.
Maleficent then returned to the Moors with the Dark Fae and promised to visit for the christening of Aurora and Phillip’s future baby. Given the history of such events in the fairy tale’s canon, something could go wrong there, too, for a fresh story. Whatever it is, just keep the core heart the same, and we’ll show up (even though Mistress of Evil was terrible).
Is there a Maleficent 3 trailer?
We wouldn’t expect a Maleficent 3 trailer until 2025 if the movie ends up being made.
The film would need to be hammered out contractually, then go through casting calls, then shoot and go through postproduction. All of this means we’d be waiting a while for any footage.
But a first trailer would likely be released close to the film’s theatrical window to promote it, as is industry standard, followed by supplemental material goodies.
Where can I watch Maleficent 3?
Maleficent 3 would probably play exclusively in theatres when released, unlike some straight-to-Disney-Plus remakes of recent years.
Maleficent 2 made $492 million against its $185 million budget. Peanuts compared to the first one’s box office (which neared 1 billion), but enough to argue against any day and date or straight-to-streaming strategy.
So we’d think Disney would do the standard theatrical window, then paid video on demand, then Disney Plus pipeline.
There’s not a lot to go on right now, but there are plenty of classics, like some of the best animated movies from the studio, new on Disney Plus to watch.
We’ve also ranked the best fantasy movies and best Disney movies for more fairy tale magic.