SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN Planned as a Trilogy
According to producer Joe Roth, Universal Pictures' live-action adaptation of Snow White and the Huntsman will most likely be turned into a trilogy. In a recent interview with EW he said,
It’s meant to be the first in a series of films. This story will end, but there will be questions remaining for these three characters.
The first film is being developed by first time feature film director Rupert Sanders (Halo 3 commercials) and will star Charlize Theron as the Evil Queen, Kristen Stewart as Snow White and Chris Hemsworth as The Huntsman. It is set to start shooting in August, and is in direct competition with the Tarsem Singh directed Snow White film. The fact that Universal is planning a Snow White trilogy is pretty ambitious. Roth continues to talk about the film saying,
We retain the basic story in the same way we retain the basic story of Alice, a young girl meant to be the queen who is cast out. The Huntsman is a mercenary, in the sense that he’s a guy who is very able in the woods, more able than most anyone. His job is to capture runaway girls, who are all fleeing the kingdom because of the queen. He’s a nondescript bounty hunter, as we first meet him... He’s not a nice guy, but not only that he’s someone who has lost hope and lost faith. He has lost his wife, given up on everything.
Roth also explains that, "he’s no killer... Snow White’s bounty is the first time he has been directed to return with only a part of the missing girl — her heart. When he finds he doesn’t have it within his to cut hers out, the two become unlikely allies — at first fleeing the Queen’s forces, and then mounting a counterattack on her kingdom." This really does sound like it could end up being a great adaptation of the story. As for the character Snow White and the actress portraying her,
She starts out not a damsel in distress, but innocent, and after 11 years of imprisonment by the Evil Queen, she escapes and learns the ways of a warrior in the woods... Frankly, what we did, we searched high and low for an unknown. Which was my want after Alice. As we went through it, it just became evident to me that Kristen occupies a space in the universe where she’s a terrific actress only known for one part. I hope this is a movie that will appeal to those who find Twilight appealing, but also [Stewart] is someone who has some piss and vinegar in her.
So Kristen Stewart is being described as someone who has piss and vinegar? Interesting. The film opens up on June 1st 2012, and there will be more details for the film revealed at Comic-Con later this month. If the first film turns out to be good, then I won't mind seeing more of them. As cool as this movie sounds though, I'm more interested in seeing what Tarsem has planned for his version. What do you think?