“There is evil in this world. Hatred. Revenge,” Maleficent declares in the new Maleficent trailer. Then she giggles — not girlishly or coquettishly, but with ironic bemusement, like a boss.
This is the Angelina Jolie, now outfitted with alienish, geometric cheekbones, that we’ve missed since she was last onscreen in 2010’s The Tourist. The new spot for Maleficient — unlike the one Disney released then withdrew last week in a matter of hours, and which portrayed its eponymous character as a well-intentioned, misunderstood heroine — plays up Mal’s might and desire for control. (Her putting Princess Aurora, played by Elle Fanning, into a floating trance in the middle of a dark forest is genuinely creepy.) There’s more action promised in this trailer, too; the battles between the humans and monsters make it look like some kind of Goth-flavored Lord of the Rings sequel.
Whether Jolie’s Maleficent turns out to be more of an anti-hero or a villainess, we’re excited that the film is written by Linda Woolverton, who’s given us two of Disney’s most progressive heroines, Belle in Beauty and the Beast and Alice in Alice in Wonderland (2010).
Watch the new Maleficent trailer:
