Yesterday we had our first proper poster for Disney’s Maleficent, a somewhat revisionist take on one of their classic villains. As we might have expected, that poster was just a precursor to the first teaser trailer for the film, which was released today. At least now we have more than just images; we have a real look at what Maleficent is all about.
The plot synopsis for Maleficent’s standalone movie is something of a revision of the original evil fairy. Maleficent is actually a bit misunderstood: a staunch defender of her idyllic forest kingdom, she’s betrayed when an invading army descends. Turning from pure-hearted sprite to malevolent evil fairy, Maleficent curses Aurora (Elle Fanning), the daughter of the invading king’s successor. But there may be more to Aurora than meets the eye, and she might very well be the key both to peace in the kingdom, and Maleficent’s own happiness.
The teaser trailer does not give us much in the way of plot; in fact, it makes Maleficent look pretty evil. She’s mostly glimpsed in shadow, those big devil horns proceeding her. From what I’ve seen of Jolie so far, she’s a dead ringer for the original animated character and will hopefully bring some terrifying life to the lead role. The trailer shows off the same aesthetic as Snow White and the Huntsman, which also featured one of the better female villains to grace the screen in recent years. So Maleficent might be worth the time, if only to see what Jolie does with the role.
We have a long time to wait, however. Maleficent will not hit screens until May 30, 2014.
Until then, you can check out the teaser trailer below and let us know what you think in the comments. Will Maleficent do justice to the evil fairy?
