Deadline is reporting that Frank Darabont will helm Snow White and the Huntsman 2 for Universal. The first film took in $396 million at the worldwide box office but only received a medicore reception from moviegoers. It was also overshadowed by all the drama that went on between star Kristen Stewart and director Rupert Sanders. Nevertheless, a sequel was always in the cards and now it seems as if the studio is ready to move ahead with it.
While Universal was originally looking at directors like Gavin O’Connor and Andres Muschietti for the job, Darabont is said to be their man. However, in a surprising turn of events, they may have lost Stewart. That’s right, apparently the studio wants to turn this into a real franchise, with spinoffs and all.
Said spinoffs will focus on Chris Hemsworth’s Huntsman, meaning that they don’t really have much use for Stewart anymore. The actress may still make a cameo, or show up in a very small part, but the focus of the story is going to shift heavily towards Hemsworth’s character. That being said, Charlize Theron is said to be returning, so she’ll definitely factor into things somehow.
It’s definitely a bit surprising to see a filmmaker like Frank Darabont hopping on board a project like this, but he did direct one of my favorite films of all-time (The Shawshank Redemption), so I’m quite curious to see what he does when given a more fantastical world to play around in. I admittedly didn’t love Snow White and the Huntsman, but I did enjoy certain parts of it. With Darabont now behind the camera, and the focus shifting from Stewart to Hemsworth, this sequel could certainly turn out much better than its predecessor.
Snow White and the Huntsman 2 will likely land in theatres in 2016. Stay tuned for further updates, as we’ll be sure to bring them to you as they arise.
