Angelina Jolie to star in 'Maleficent' sequel and also take up directorial gigs

About five months following her acrimonious split from husband Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie now seems eager to put her entire life in order again by giving some importance to her reeling acting career. According to the Hollywood Reporter who recently ran an exclusive story on the star, she is set to reprise her role as the titular character in a sequel to Disney's 'Maleficent'. Disney itself also did announce this week that they are working on 'Maleficent 2'. If everything goes as scheduled, the filming for the upcoming film could start in May this year.

Angelina Jolie was definitely interested in being in the movie to begin with. She repeatedly stated it was because she grew up on Disney movies as a child and she was very impressed with Maleficent's characterization for this film 'Since I was a little girl, Maleficent was always my favorite', Jolie said.  Also, she wanted to do a movie in which her children can go see her in, as well as the fact that her children really also wanted her to be in the movie

Back to Angelina Jolie, the A-lister has been absent from the screens and the public eye for quite a while. She has been keeping away from the limelight ever since she much publicized divorce announcement in September last year. It was only until a week ago that she came out again in the company of all her children to promote a film she had directed in Cambodia. This is a Netflix-sponsored movie titled 'First They Killed My Father'. It's based on a memoir about a deadly regime in the Asian country.

Jolie's acting career has suffered an apparent dry spell. Her last onscreen role was in 2014 where she co-starred with her ex-husband in 'By The Sea', a film that bombed. Her last acting role on its part was in 2015 when she lent her voice to the film 'Kung Fu Panda' 3. Given her long absent from the screen, 'Maleficent 2' will certainly serve to give the Hollywood star some career footing again. Not that she needs a footing, she is already a world-renown actress and a highly sought after one with several credits to her name. Starring in a big film like 'Maleficent 2' will however not do her any bad.

In order to give the fairies a proper feeling of featherweight and agility, the three actresses who perform the fairies, Lesley Manville, Imelda Staunton and Juno Temple, spent three weeks filming motion capture, while being guided by artists of Cirque du Soleil

Angelina starred in the first 'Maleficent' film as a fairy who is bent on doing evil. This reportedly earned her $20 million in exclusion of profit bonuses.

Directorial roles

It's not only her acting career that is set to experience a major comeback, Angelina Jolie is also set to retake directorial and production roles. It's reported that the mother of six is considering taking up directorial roles in a number of high-profile films. These include among others an adaptation of Alessandro Barrico's 2004 war-themed novel titled 'Without Blood'.

'Maleficent' was nominated for best costume but lost to 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' (2014)

In regards to film production, the Oscar winner is rumored to have agreed to be the producer of Disney's upcoming flick, 'The One and Only Ivan'.

Angelina on the breakup of her marriage

The 'Mr & Mrs. Smith' actress recently opened up about her failed marriage after remaining mom on it ever since news about it became public. Speaking exclusively to the BBC, she said it was a difficult experience but that above all, they still remain a family and hope to emerge stronger from everything.

Jolie and her 'Allied' star ex-husband have decided to proceed with the rest of their divorce case privately. This, they believe will help safeguard the wellbeing of their children. It's not very clear what exactly caused the celebrity pair's split. Brad was initially being accused of child abuse and this was believed to have contributed to his and Angelina's split. He has however since been cleared of the allegations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.