Disney has tapped production designer Robert Stromberg ("Avatar," "Alice in Wonderland") to direct the live-action movie about Sleeping Beauty's evil foil "Maleficent," The Wrap has confirmed.
Touted as a modern take on the classic fairy tale, the fantasy is told from the viewpoint of Beauty's fairy godmother, to be played by Angelina Jolie.
Also read: Brian Beletic Onboard for Next Disney Movie Inspired by a Disneyland Ride
It will mark Stromberg's directing debut.
"Maleficent" is written by Linda Woolverton, who also wrote the script for Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" and co-wrote the script for "The Lion King." Don Hahn, Joe Roth and Richard D. Zanuck produce.
The "Maleficent" news comes following the announcement that Disney had tapped another first-time director, Brian Beletic, for a Matterhorn-ride-inspired movie referred to as the "Untitled Explorers Project."