For the last year, Angelina Jolie has been in the news, but not for her acting. But in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Jolie says she's returning to acting with two roles that have her playing complicated women who are in charge of their own narrative. When talking about what she plans to do next, the actor said, "Right now I don't have anything to direct that I feel passionate about like this, so I'll do some acting." She didn't give an exact timeframe for when she'd get in front of the camera, but said that she hopes to go back to work in the "months to come."
While Jolie didn't commit officially to her next project, she teased that a sequel to 2014's Maleficent is happening, possibly as soon as this year. "And I look forward to having some fun with that," she said of the film that would have her once again playing the Sleeping Beauty villain.
After announcing her divorce from Brad Pitt last September, Jolie's name was all over the headlines; thus, she tried to keep a low profile, taking the year off time off to deal with her "family situation, to take care of my kids." (Oh, and direct a film called First They Killed My Father, based on Loung Ung's 2000 memoir of the same name, which explores her childhood living in Phnom Penh when the Khmer Rouge army stormed the city, that just got a standing ovation at the Telluride Film Festival.)
In an interview with Deadline from the Telluride Film Festival, Jolie joked about her return to acting, saying, “I am now the breadwinner for the family so it’s time." She last appeared in 2015's By The Sea, which she directed and appeared in alongside then husband Pitt. The film, which looks a the dissolution of a marriage, was actually made during her honeymoon with Pitt. But the actor made it clear it wasn't just a money issue, the script for Maleficent 2 is good. "We have been working on the script and this is going to be a really strong sequel," she told Deadline.
Jolie also told The Hollywood Reporter that she will officially star in Cleopatra, a remake of the 1963 classic starring Elizabeth Taylor that has long been in the works, but finally has a script. No word yet on who will direct the film, though James Cameron and David Fincher were previously attached to the project.
In the meantime, the actor still left some mystery to her return, explaining, "There's a lot of different things floating around. But I haven't committed," which means all this could change. One thing that likely won't change, though, is that fans will get to see her acting again sooner rather than later.
