Maleficent: Mistress of Evil’s trailer contains a dramatic version of a rock song

Disney has unveiled the trailer for Maleficent: Mistress of Evil and I think I scored a bingo on my movie trailer bingo card. This contains every marketing cliche in the book, from dramatic close-ups to corny jokes, to a dark, brooding cover of a classic song. Why did anyone feel the need to make Donovan’s “Season of the Witch” super generic sounding?

That aside, it seems Disney is dropping the whole “she’s not really evil” thing that the first film built up. We all know Maleficent as the soulless witch she is, but I figured there’d be a little bit more build-up with Angelina Jolie’s take on the character. Despite its problems, the first Maleficent tried to show a different side of the menacing character akin to John Gardner’s Grendel so I would have liked to see a more natural evolution to her dark ways.

Ah well. At least Jolie still looks the part. Maleficent: Mistress of Evil will be hitting theaters on October 18, 2019.

Official Teaser: Disney’s Maleficent: Mistress of Evil – In Theaters October 18! [Walt Disney Studios via YouTube]