Disney has tapped production designer Robert Stromberg (Avatar, Alice in Wonderland) to direct the live-action movie about Snow White's evil queen Maleficent, The Wrap has confirmed.

The fantasy movie is told from the viewpoint of Beauty's apple-bearing fairy godmother, played by Angelina Jolie. It is being touted as a post-modern take on the classic fairy tale.

It will mark Stromberg's directing debut.

Maleficent is written by Linda Woolverton, who also wrote the script for Disney's Beauty and the Beast and co-wrote the script for The Lion King. Don Hahn, Joe Roth and Richard D. Zanuck produce.

The Maleficent news comes following the announcement that Disney had tapped another first-time director, Brian Beletic, for a Matterhorn-ride-inspired movie referred to as the Untitled Explorers Project.

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