Tim Burton is no longer set to direct Walt Disney’s live action variation on the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale, Maleficent. The studio had been developing the project for Angelina Jolie to star in.
Hollywood Reporter broke the story but had no details as to why Burton has moved on from the project. The Reporter is also stating that among those being considered to take over the project is David Yates, director of the last four Harry Potter films.
Burton hasn’t severed ties with Disney however. He continues to oversee the feature-length stop-motion adaptation of his 1984 Frankenweenie short for the studio, which is due for release on October 5, 2012.
The film’s script, by Burton’s Alice In Wonderland collaborator Linda Woolverton, fleshes out the backstory of the witch from Sleeping Beauty.
