(Cover) - EN Movies - Tim Burton will not direct Maleficent.

The movie, which is still in the early stages of development, is the Disney project that retells the classic Sleeping Beauty fairytale from the evil witchs perspective. Angelina Jolie is starring as the title character, and films protagonist Maleficent.

Tim was loosely attached to helm the film and his involvement led the studio to hire his Alice in Wonderland collaborator Linda Woolverton to pen the fantasy-led script.

Disney is now searching for a new director and David Yates, who helmed the four most recent Harry Potter movies, has been named as an early contender for the role.

Tim is currently still working with Disney on turning his Frankenweenie short film into a feature-length project. The 52-year-old is best known for directing dark, quirky-themed movies such as Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. His most recent film, Alice in Wonderland was the second highest-grossing film of 2010 as well as the sixth highest-grossing film of all time.

Maleficent is due for release on Oct 5, 2012. (C) Cover Media