Recently, we heard that Sharlto Copley - seen in films such as
District 9 and
The A-Team - was confirmed to play the villain in Spike Lee's
Oldboy remake, while also landing a role in
Open Grave. Now, he's adding another film to his resume as
Deadline reports that he's in negotiations for the male lead in Disney's live action
Maleficent. If discussions go well, Copley will play King Stefan. Angelina Jolie plays the title character in the movie, which tells the backstory of Sleeping Beauty and why Maleficent cursed Princess Aurora in the first place.
The film is expected to begin production this June, and will be the directorial debut of Robert Stromberg (production designer for
Alice In Wonderland and the upcoming
Oz, The Great & Powerful). Linda Woolverton (
The Lion King) is writing the script, while Joe Roth is producing.
Maleficent is set to hit theaters March 14th, 2014.