Disney obviously has high hopes for Maleficent, which will examine the studio’s own 1959 interpretation of Sleeping Beauty from the perspective of its primary villain. Angelina Jolie will play the titular antagonist and she's been joined by a host of other actors big and small, but some key roles still need to be cast.
On that note, Deadline Hollywood revealed that Brenton Thwaites will play the prince in the Mouse House’s revisionist film. The actor isn’t a household name in the U.S. just yet, but he’s wildly popular in Australia thanks to the dramatic television series SLiDE. Even though he has a limited catalogue of work to his name, Thwaites at least has the right look for the part.
Additionally, Disney previously cast indie queen Juno Temple as Thistletwit, a fairy who helps raise Princess Aurora. Oscar nominees Miranda Richardson and Imelda Staunton will portray the other two fairies Flittle and Knotgrass, respectively. Disney cast Richardson and Staunton in Maleficent at the same time that Sharlto Copley, Kenneth Cranham, and Sam Riley were employed for the film. As for the beauty herself, Elle Fanning will play Princess Aurora.
Oscar-winning art director Robert Stromberg takes the helm of this twist on Sleeping Beauty, making this his directorial debut. Linda Woolverton, the scribe behind Tim Burton’s 2010 reboot of Alice in Wonderland as well as many other Disney efforts wrote the script.
Maleficent is currently set to hit theaters on March 14, 2014.
