Confirmed: Disney developing Maleficent spinoff

Back in January, when I was first talking about Tim Burton directing MALEFICENT, I was pretty excited about the concept. I hadn’t seen ALICE IN WONDERLAND yet. About three months later, I saw ALICE and my interest in Burton taking on this tale has all but disappeared.

So is Burton actually directing the film? Not quite yet. But the early rumors reported by Ain’t It Cool were confirmed this morning with a report that ALICE writer Linda Woolverton has been hired to write the script with Burton helping to develop the production. I’m sorry but despite the mega-success of ALICE at the box-office, I can’t get excited for a movie that reunites the main creative team behind that film, which was an unbridled mess (please don’t get me started on the 3D).

As previously reported, the film will take a look at the villainess from her perspective, not unlike what “Wicked” did with the Wicked Witch.

Burton has a number of possibilities to consider for his next project including the ADDAMS FAMILY film at Universal, the long-rumored DARK SHADOWS film and now this project. He’s currently just getting started on the feature-length version of FRANKENWEENIE for Disney.