Tim Burton pulls out of Maleficent movie

Tim Burton has pulled out of the planned Sleeping Beauty re-imagining Maleficent to focus on his other works. The moviemaker had been tentatively attached to the Disney movie which was set to reunite Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp onscreen for the first time following their work on The Tourist but has now left the project to focus on current project Frankenweenie.

The film is set to be a reimagining of the original classic tale told from the perspective of the main antagonist Maleficent.

Although David Yates – who has directed the last four Harry Potter movies — has been mentioned as a possible replacement, the future of the movie is unclear after Angelina previously revealed working with Tim was one of the main reasons she wanted to take on the role of the evil witch.

“It’s all new and being discussed, but I loved her when I was a little girl. She was my favorite,” she said.

“Tim Burton, the chance to work with him would be extraordinary.”

Asked about re-teaming with Depp, she said, “Oh, of course. I think every actor would be open to that.

“They are such a special team, and so you’d feel like you’d be entering a family that is such a wonderful, existing family.”