Staunton joins Jolie on Maleficent

Imelda Staunton and Miranda Richardson are rumoured to be the latest additions to Maleficent.

The British actresses are thought to be joining Angelina Jolie in Robert Stromberg's Disney live-action fantasy, reported Heat Vision blog.

Imelda - who played Professor Dolores Jane Umbridge in the Harry Potter films - is up for the role of Knotgrass, a pixie who ends up taking care of Princess Aurora alongside Lesley Manville as fellow pixie Flittle.

Two-time Oscar nominee Miranda, who played Rita Skeeter in the Harry Potter movies, is tipped for the part of Queen Ulla, a "fairy queen who is Maleficent's aunt with a dislike of her niece".

Angelina has already been cast as the titular lead in the retelling of the Sleeping Beauty tale, while District 9's Sharlto Copley is the male lead.

Elle Fanning had been in talks to portray the young princess, but it is uncertain if she has accepted the part.

Kenneth Cranham (Hot Fuzz) and On The Road's Sam Riley are also on the roster as a human king who plots to conquer the fairy kingdom and Maleficent's sidekick - a raven who can change into human form.

Production on Maleficent, which tells the classic fairytale from the villainess' point of view, is set to start from June in London, for a scheduled release in spring 2014.