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Release dates |
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Running time | 119 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $186 million |
| Box office | $492.2 million[3] |
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is a 2019 American fantasy film directed by Joachim Rønning from a screenplay by Linda Woolverton, Micah Fitzerman-Blue, and Noah Harpster. Produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Roth/Kirschenbaum Films, it is a sequel to Maleficent (2014), itself a live-action retelling of Walt Disney's 1959 animated film Sleeping Beauty, and the second installment in the Maleficent film series. The film stars Angelina Jolie as the title character, with Elle Fanning, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sam Riley, Harris Dickinson, Ed Skrein, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Lesley Manville, and Michelle Pfeiffer in supporting roles. Set five years after Maleficent, the film sees the eponymous character face the neighboring kingdom's manipulated perception of herself as a villain, in addition to a subplot of the rise of an endangered, powerful fairy race of the Dark Fae.
After the release of the first film in May 2014, Jolie stated a sequel was possible. The project was officially announced the following June. Jolie signed on in April 2016. Rønning, who co-directed Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017) for Disney, was hired to direct the film in October 2017. The rest of the cast was added/confirmed in May 2018, with filming beginning that month at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, England, lasting through August.
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil premiered in Los Angeles on September 30, 2019, and was released in the United States theatrically on October 18 by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the performances of Jolie, Fanning, and Pfeiffer, while criticizing the "muddled plot and overly artificial visuals."[4] The film grossed $491 million worldwide, although it needed to make around $500 million in order to make a profit when factoring in total budget, marketing and distribution costs.[5] It also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Makeup and Hairstyling at the 92nd Academy Awards. A third film is currently in development.
Plot
In the five years since King Stefan's death,[N 1] Aurora has reigned as Queen of the Moors and Maleficent as its guardian and protector. Despite her service, the neighboring kingdom of Ulstead, home to Prince Philip, deems Maleficent a villain. Diaval, Maleficent's raven and confidant, overhears Philip proposing to Aurora. When he relays this to Maleficent, she advises against the union, though Aurora vows to prove her wrong.
Philip's parents, King John and Queen Ingrith, host an intimate dinner. Maleficent maintains her composure after Ingrith tauntingly mentions the sleeping curse once placed on Aurora, and recalls King Stefan's death. She openly claims Maleficent killed two human fairy poachers last seen near the Moors. When Ingrith carelessly dismisses Maleficent's maternal bond with Aurora, Maleficent reacts angrily and seemingly curses John, who suddenly falls into a deep slumber. Maleficent proclaims she did not curse him, though Aurora disbelieves her. Philip urges his mother to try and awaken the King with a kiss. Ingrith resists, and her weak attempt fails because she does not love John. As Maleficent flees the castle, Ingrith's servant, Gerda, shoots Maleficent with an iron bullet.
Wounded, Maleficent falls into the ocean and is rescued by a mysterious winged creature. She awakens in a cavern where fairies like herself have been in hiding. Among them is Conall, their peaceful leader who saved Maleficent, and Borra, a warlike fairy who favors open conflict with humans and killed the poachers near the Moors. Maleficent is among the last creatures known as Dark Phoenix Fae, powerful fairies forced into hiding and nearly driven extinct by human oppression. She is also the last descendant from the Phoenix, an ancient and powerful Dark Fae ancestor. Because Maleficent's magic is so powerful, Conall and Borra believe she is instrumental in ending the conflict with humans, either by peace or war.
Meanwhile, Aurora grows disillusioned with being an Ulstead noblewoman but is happy that the Moor denizens are invited to the royal wedding. Aurora discovers that Ingrith hates all Moor fairy folk, bitterly resenting their prosperity during a time when her kingdom had suffered and blaming them for her brother's death. Ingrith secretly plots to eradicate all fairies and woodland beings using iron weapons and a lethal crimson powder developed by Lickspittle, a de-winged pixie. Aurora also learns that it was Ingrith who cursed John, using Maleficent's old cursed spindle. Ingrith finds out and has Aurora imprisoned. When the Moor folk arrive, they are trapped inside the castle's chapel. At Ingrith's command, Gerda unleashes the deadly crimson powder by playing the chapel's organ. The fairy Flittle selflessly sacrifices herself to save everyone as a last resort by clogging the organ, rendering the organ unplayable, while fairies Knotgrass and Thistlewit cause Gerda to fall to her death.
The Dark Fae launch an assault on Ulstead but soldiers begin massacring them until Maleficent, channeling the Phoenix power, joins the battle. She nearly kills Queen Ingrith but Aurora appeals to Maleficent's humanity to spare her, and declares that only Maleficent is her mother. With Maleficent distracted, the Queen fires her crossbow. Maleficent saves Aurora, but is struck by the arrow, dissolving into ashes. Devastated, Aurora mourns over Maleficent's death. However, as Aurora's tears fall on the ashes, Maleficent is reborn as a Phoenix. Terrified, Ingrith throws Aurora off the tower to distract Maleficent and runs away. Maleficent saves her. Ingrith is stopped by Borra and the other Dark Fae as she tries to escape.
Philip forges peace between the fairies and humans and the Ulstead soldiers stand down. Maleficent reverts to her fairy form and gives Aurora and Philip her blessing. Upon receiving it from Lickspittle, Maleficent destroys the spindle and its curse, awakening John from his slumber. As punishment for her crimes, Ingrith is transformed into a goat by Maleficent, until she can accept the peace between the two peoples.
After Aurora and Philip are wed, Maleficent returns to the Moors with the other Dark Fae. She promises to return for the christening of Aurora and Philip's future child.
