Trachtenberg to Direct Sleeping Beauty-Inspired Film for Disney
Predator director Dan Trachtenberg will direct an untitled Disney film based on an original idea inspired by Sleeping Beauty. The project is in early development, Deadline reported on 28 September 2026. Early development means the script is still being written. Casting, filming and a release date all come much later.
It is not Maleficent. The new film has no connection to the two Maleficent films starring Angelina Jolie, according to the same report. Those films retold the fairy tale from the villain's point of view. This one starts elsewhere, from a fresh idea rather than that series.
Trachtenberg developed the story with Raya McClendon. The screenplay is by Alex Anfanger and Dan Schimpf, Deadline reported. A story credit usually means shaping the plot and characters. A screenplay credit means writing the dialogue and scenes the cast will eventually perform. Anfanger and Schimpf previously co-created the Comedy Central series Big Time in Hollywood, FL, a half-hour comedy.
Trachtenberg will produce alongside Ben Rosenblatt and Michelle Rejwan. Producers guide a film from script to screen, hiring key staff and keeping the production on track. On the studio side, Jessica Virtue and Alina Mota are overseeing the project for Disney. They report to Daria Cercek, president of Disney live action, the division that makes films with real actors and sets rather than animation.
Trachtenberg is best known recently for the Predator franchise. His credits there include Prey, Predator: Badlands and Predator: Killer of Killers, stories centred on an alien hunter that stalks its prey, according to Deadline. Directing means leading the creative choices on set and in editing. Separately, he is in pre-production on a top-secret film at Paramount. Pre-production is the detailed prep before cameras roll, from building sets to finalising schedules.
For fans, this means patience. Announcements at this stage rarely include cast, filming dates or a release window. What makes this stand out is that word original. It signals a new story inspired by Sleeping Beauty, not a straight remake or a continuation of Maleficent. The work now is the script.
