Angelina Jolie's Maleficent 2 to be helmed by Pirates of the Caribbean director

Angelina Jolie's Disney sequel Maleficent 2 has found its director in the form of Joachim Ronning, who helmed the most recent Pirates of the Caribbean movie Salazar's Revenge, known as Dead Men Tell No Tales across the pond.

Jolie confirmed her return to acting in September, in the process announcing the follow-up to 2014's live action Sleeping Beauty prequel. "I am now the breadwinner for the family so it's time," she told Deadline.

"We have been working on the script and this is going to be a really strong sequel."

Variety broke the news that Ronning was in talks with Disney about taking the job, noting that Jez Butterworth and Linda Woolverton are penning a draft of the film's script.

Woolverton is best known for writing the first Maleficent, as well as Disney classics The Lion King and (the animated) Beauty and the Beast. Butterworth meanwhile worked on Bond outing Spectre and Tom Cruise sci-fi Edge of Tomorrow.

Ronning made his name directing Oscar-nominee Kon-Tiki in his native Norway, before moving on to the enormously popular Johnny Depp vehicle. While the film didn't review well, it did succeed at the box office and clearly put him in good stead with his paymasters at Disney.

Maleficent is partly responsible for Disney's ongoing drive to produce live action takes on classic stories. It was an origin tale following the Sleeping Beauty antagonist as she became the bitter and twisted dark witch familiar to audiences.

Jolie slowed down her acting career in 2011 to spend more time with her children, and to pursue work behind the camera. Jolie has had just a few roles since then, most notably in Maleficent, and in By the Sea, which she also directed, opposite ex-husband Brad Pitt.

She has also directed Unbroken and Netflix drama First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers, the latter of which drew controversy earlier this year when the film's casting techniques were reported by Vanity Fair.

It was claimed that impoverished, often orphaned youngsters were emotionally manipulated with money which casting directors would snap away from them.

"When she was asked later what the money was for, she said her grandfather had died, and they didn't have enough money for a nice funeral," Jolie said.

The casting method was brandished a "cruel psychological game" by critics, but Jolie shot back at the claims calling them "false and upsetting".