Director Dan Trachtenberg is attached to an untitled Disney movie inspired by SLEEPING BEAUTY, Deadline reported Sept. 28, but the project remains in early development.
The original 1959 SLEEPING BEAUTY “has enchanted millions of Disney fans who have taken it into their hearts,” Walt Disney Archives director Rebecca Cline said in 2024. So, it’s not surprising Disney would want to take another look at the beloved story.
Deadline said that, per unnamed sources, Trachtenberg and writer Rayna McClendon developed the story idea, while screenwriters Alex Anfanger and Dan Schimpf are writing the screenplay. Its report described an original approach rather than a scene-for-scene remake.
The studio has not made an official statement confirming a green light, cast, title, production start or release date.
Deadline also reported Trachtenberg and his longtime producing partner Ben Rosenblatt would produce alongside Michelle Rejwan. Disney executive vice president of production Jessica Virtue and creative executive Alina Mota are the executives overseeing the project, with both working under Disney Live Action president Daria Cercek.
What might that team do with the tale? Per Deadline, plot details remain under wraps and there is no connection to the two MALEFICENT movies starring actress Angelina Jolie. The distinction matters: a new story inspired by SLEEPING BEAUTY is not automatically a third MALEFICENT entry, and there is no verified basis yet to say whose perspective it will take or whether it will preserve the original ending.
Walt Disney Animation Studios described its 1959 SLEEPING BEAUTY as the story of Princess Aurora, whom the jealous Maleficent curses at birth. Three good fairies raise Aurora away from danger, but the curse sends her into an enchanted sleep on her 16th birthday; Prince Phillip then fights a dragon and helps break the spell. That familiar framework gives the new creative team plenty of room to depart from the original without telling audiences what the unmade movie will actually contain.
For families, the older story offers a useful reference point while everyone waits for actual creative details. Movieguide®’s review of SLEEPING BEAUTY praises its clear struggle between good and evil, its care for a vulnerable child and its Christian and moral imagery. The review also cautions that the original movie’s animated violence and scary images may trouble younger viewers.
For now, the news is the creative pairing and the possibility of another take on a durable fairy tale, not an imminent family movie night.
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