I suspect that, much like this week’s Snow White and the Huntsman, the “Prince” of Maleficent won’t have a huge impact on the actual proceedings. This film’s really about the evil side of Sleeping Beauty, and the “good guys” will get focus through that character, anyhow; he might just prove to be eye candy and a dues ex machina.

So don’t put too much stock in the next casting item, wherein Deadline tells us that Brenton Thwaites (Home and Away) will take the role and, as a result, screen space with Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, and Sharlto Copley, all of whom are acting under the guidance of debut helmer Robert Stromberg. For a young actor whose biggest work thus far has been on an Australian soap opera, this is a big step-up.

The film, penned by Linda Woolverton (Alice in Wonderland), looks at Sleeping Beauty from the perspective of its villain, a now-titular character who Jolie will be playing; Fanning has been locked for the classic hero, known here as Aurora; and Copley is expected to appear as her “half-human, half-fairy” father. (IMDb also lists Sam Riley, Juno Temple, and Imelda Staunton as cast members, though I don’t remember hearing about their involvement. They’re more than welcome to join along, though.)

Maleficent is scheduled to open on March 14th, 2014.

Following this, Deadline reports that Mireille Enos (The Killing, World War Z) has been added to Devil’s Knot, the West Memphis 3 drama that Atom Egoyan will direct for Colin Firth and Reese Witherspoon. This true-life drama sees the former play Ron Lax, a public investigator who was also one of the group’s first outspoken supporters, while the latter is slated to play Pam Hobbs, mother to a victim and — if recent evidence is correct — wife of the actual killer.

Enos figures into this as “Vicki Hutcheson, the mother of an 8-year-old boy who lives in a run-down house in West Memphis,” as well as “the only link between [suspects Damien] Echols and [Jessie] Misskelley.” The slightly-early casting would make me think she’ll have a relatively important part to play in how Devil’s Knot turns out; if that’s the case, they’ve chosen wisely.

Are you happy with these picks for Maleficent and Devil’s Knot?