Maleficent 2 is nearing its next big step of development. According to Deadline, Joachim Rønning, one of the directors of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, is in talks to direct the Angelina Jolie-starring sequel for Disney.

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There’s no word on whether or not Espen Sandberg, the other half of the directing duo, would be making his way with Rønning, but given that he’s nowhere in the report, it sounds like it’s not likely. Every team tends to split off at some point, for better or worse (I’m looking at you Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci), and should this deal go through, it looks like this could be the beginning of a whole new phase for their careers.

Rønning’s latest outing, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales may not have been critically well received, but it still made quite a pretty penny of nearly $800 million worldwide, which is nothing to sneeze at. Similarly, Maleficent was one of those films whose critical reception was rather split, and yet made bank at the box office. With those similar stories, it makes sense they may go with someone like Rønning, who’s clearly doing something right with mainstream audiences, even if most critics aren’t fans.

Angelina Jolie is set to return as the titular Maleficent, who was first introduced in the 1959 Disney classic Sleeping Beauty. The first film went on to reimagine and retcon that well known tale, painting Maleficent herself in a more sympathetic light. With the story all closed up nicely in that first movie, it’ll be interesting to see where the studio decides to take the film.

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SOURCE: Deadline