'Maleficent' sequel in the works

Pic Courtesy: Movie Still

Los Angeles: Disney is moving forward with a sequel to its live-action "Maleficent". According to Deadline, the studio has already tapped Linda Woolverton, who scripted the first film, to write the script for the follow-up movie while hoping for its leading actress Angelina Jolie to return to the sequel.

There is no deal in place yet for Jolie to reprise the titular character, but it seems to be a priority for the studio to bring back the superstar to the sequel before it can really go forward.

It is a little bit hard to predict whether Jolie will be back into costume or not since she had refused to star in two potential sequels to "Salt" and "Wanted (2008)". However, Jolie did do a second "Tomb Raider" film, and has taken part in "Kung Fu Panda" sequels as a voice actor.

Meanwhile, Joe Roth returns to the film as producer. As for director Robert Stromberg, it is still unclear if he will be back to helm the sequel to "Maleficent" or not.

Disney has other live-action projects in the pipeline including "Dumbo", "Jungle Book: Origins", "Beauty and the Beast (2017)" and "Pan".