Disney has given Sleeping Beauty to the director who made Predator scary again
An original Sleeping Beauty movie with a fresh, bold vision is in the works at Disney — from the director of Prey.
The director who brought you plasma cannons and sci-fi scalpings is apparently swapping Yautja for enchanted forests. Dan Trachtenberg, the bloke responsible for revitalising the Predator franchise, is now deep in the woods with Disney for what they’re calling an original Sleeping Beauty reimagining. And before you ask: no, it’s not another Maleficent project with extra cheekbones and gothic lighting. Disney’s looking to do something genuinely fresh here.
Trachtenberg’s version is said to have zero connection to the Angela Jolie-driven Maleficent storyline; this is a ground-up, unrelated take.
Not Your Usual Fairy Godmother Stuff
Details, as you’d expect with Disney, are firmly padlocked. No plot specifics are floating about. But what’s clear is this is no prequel or Maleficent’s-villain-memoir. The script’s being hammered out by Alex Anfanger (you might have caught his black comedy “Big Time in Hollywood, FL") and Dan Schimpf (from the anthology series "Cake"), both working from a story dreamt up by Trachtenberg himself alongside Raya McClendon. So, all new direction, no dusty live-action baggage.
In classic Disney, that’s a fair shake of the dice. The last time they really went out on a limb with Sleeping Beauty, it was to turn Maleficent into the misunderstood mum of the year. This time, expect something else entirely. All bets are off on whether there's even a prince — if you've seen Prey, you'd wager Trachtenberg might be ready to chuck out the old 'snooze until you're snogged' business.
Read more: The co-director of The Lion King is now making an AI-assisted film
From Predator to Princesses
Now, why would Disney hand over the keys to their prettiest palace? Easy. If you saw Prey (2022), you know Trachtenberg can drag a tired IP kicking and screaming into something electric. He set Comanche warrior Naru (played by the outstanding Amber Midthunder) against a high-tech alien in the 18th century and made the Predator thrilling again. Since then, Trachtenberg’s basically become the Predator franchise’s new dad — co-directing Hulu’s animated outing "Predator: Killer of Killers," and now steering "Predator: Badlands," which is set to follow a young rogue Predator (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) teaming up improbably with a human (Elle Fanning, of all people).
The original Sleeping Beauty — the studio’s last fairy tale under Walt himself — owes its iconic look to Eyvind Earle, whose crisp, geometric artwork still makes animators weak at the knees nearly 70 years on.
Still Chasing Eyvind Earle
If you’ve ever watched the 1959 animated Sleeping Beauty, you know it’s possibly the glossiest of Disney’s old-school run, thanks in massive part to artist Eyvind Earle. His art style — somewhere between illuminated manuscripts and scandi-chic geometry — is a nightmare for anyone spooked by actual visual ambition. Whether Disney lets Trachtenberg go wild in that sandbox, or pushes him somewhere new, that’s the bit to watch. Either way, a director with his knack for space and tension could make something either staggeringly beautiful or absolutely mad, but almost certainly not dull.