In the original Maleficent, one of the relationships that seemed to catch fans by surprise is that of Angelina Jolie’s tragically misunderstood villain-turned-anti-hero and her shapeshifting raven, Diaval, played by Sam Riley. Apparently that fact really struck a chord with Jolie, as Riley mentioned that with it came time to make Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, his iconic co-star pushed for their relationship to take on a new level of understanding.
In a recent interview, Sam Riley mentioned how this was not only a good move for the Maleficent story, but also how their relationship plays in the sequel, as follows:
We had a lot of fun doing it because Angie sort of felt that our relationship was one of the things that people did enjoy about the first one and how we could, you know, make even more out of it and more out of this sort of this old married couple relationship. They bicker with one another, but, you know he adores her.
Traditionally known as Diablo the Raven, the character of Diaval’s transformation in Maleficent allowed the role to not only take advantage of Riley’s talents as an actor, but also provided Angelina Jolie’s Maleficent with a more effective sounding board/agent of chaos. From what it sounds like, that change worked so well that Maleficent: Mistress of Evil will allow the pair to be even more effective in their battle against Michelle Pfieffer’s Queen Ingrith and her war against Maleficent.
While the phrase “old married couple” does invoke quite a bit of dramatic baggage between Maleficent and Diaval, Sam Riley’s interview with TooFab certainly showed him as being unafraid that their chemistry would lead to any lasting consequences in Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. If anything, Riley sounds like he thinks it’ll only make things better for the sorceress previously labeled as evil and her companion previously limited to being a raven. He continues to muse on this fact below:
I think she hasn't noticed him yet, but maybe that's just Maleficent. And you know that he saw her right from the beginning of the first one that there was something more to her than this angry, hurt [creature] and that she loved Aurora and I think she just developed that more. He's got more confidence to just suggest things to guide her in the human world. And what's the worst she can do? Turn him into a mealworm or something? She'll cool down.
As Maleficent: Mistress of Evil has already started to screen, the response has been quite fantastic in the limited context the film has been spoken about.
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil wants audiences to fly in the face of evil on October 18! And if you’re excited for more Disney action in the near future, you should take a look at the upcoming Disney release calendar for both live-action adaptations and the studio’s slate at large.
