Cedric Nicolas-Troyan Is The New Director Of THE HUNTSMAN Sequel

The Hollywood Reporter is confirming that Universal has found a replacement for director Frank Darabont who left The Huntsman over creative differences. A new director has been found and Cedric Nicolas-Troyan has been named.

Cedric was second-unit director on Snow White And The Hunstman and Joe Roth's Maleficent, Joe will be producing The Huntsman. He also worked on the visual effects on films such as The Ring, Pirates of The Caribbean: The Curse of The Black Pearl/Dead Man's Chest and Snow White. The new director was attached to direct Summit's remake of The Highlander.

The film is said to be centred around Chris Hemsworth's Eric The Hunstman and not Snow White, Kristen Stewart isn't expected to return for the sequel.

Eric is tasked on returning the magic mirror when it goes missing. The main antagonist of the film is the Snow Queen, who is out for revenge after the death of her sister Raveena played by Charlize Theron.

As previously reported Emily Blunt is in negotiations with the studio for the role of the villainess Snow Queen.

Theron is said to be reprising the role of Raveena, possibly in flashbacks.





SOURCE: THR

India Eisley Cast As Lead In KITE, Ralph Ziman Takes Over As Director

Deadline reports that India Eisley (Maleficent, Underworld Awakening) has been cast as Sawa in the live-action Kite adaptation. India recently played the daughter of Selene in Underworld Awakening, so she has experience with action sets. She will join Samuel L. Jackson (Django Unchained, Avengers, Robocop) along with newly added Callan McAuliffe (Great Gatsby). South African director Ralph Ziman has taken over directing duites after the sudden death of it's original director David R. Eills. Ziman is best known for his film Gangster's Paradise: Jerusalema. It will be interesting if the film can hold onto the visual style/graphic violence of the anime and end up becoming a bit of rival to the Kick-Ass franchise.

Charts the story of Sawa (Eisley), a young woman living in a failed state after the financial collapse, where a corrupt security force profits on the trafficking of young women. When Sawa’s policeman father is killed, she vows to track the murderer down with the help of his ex-partner, Karl Aker (Jackson).

Nicola Peltz And Brenton Thwaites Join Mark Wahlberg In TRANSFORMERS 4

Twitch is reporting that Paramount has finally cast it's young new cast for Transformers 4 opposite Mark Wahlberg. They say that Nicola Peltz (Bates Motel, Avatar The Last Airbender) and Aussie actor Brenton Thawaites (Maleficent) have joined the cast as Wahlberg's daughter and her biker/race car driving boyfriend.

Saoirse Ronan, Alicia Vikander And Gabriella Wilde In The Running For CINDERELLA

Variety reports on young actresses in the running for the title role in Mark Romanek's (Never Let Me Go) Cinderella from Disney. They include Irish actress Saoirse Ronan (Atonement, Byzantium, Lovely Bones, Hanna, The Host), Swedish actress Alicia Vikander (Anna Karenina, A Royal Affair, The Seventh Son) and British actress Gabriella Wilde (Three Musketeers, Carrie). Ronan's Hanna co-star Cate Blanchett is in talks for the villain role of the evil stepmother.

Saoirse had been attached for Disney's Snow White film The Order of The Seven which was axed when Snow White And The Hunstman turned out to be successful. Oddly enough, Alicia had been in the mix for the Snow White role in Huntsman which ultimately went to Kristen Stewart. Wilde had been linked for testing for the female lead in Transformers 4, playing the daughter of Mark Wahlberg's character.

Juno Temple Joins Disney's 'MALEFICENT' Starring Angelina Jolie And Elle Fanning

HeatVision reports that British actress Juno Temple (Dark Knight Rises) has joined the growing cast of Maleficent. Disney's live-action adaptation of Sleeping Beauty which stars Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning.

'MALEFICENT' Gets A Supporting Cast, Elle Fanning Confirmed For Aurora

HeatVision reports that a slew of British actors have joined Disney's Maleficent, their live-action adaptation of Sleeping Beauty. The new additions include Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake, Alice In Wonderland Harry Potter), Miranda Richardson (Harry Potter, Black Adder), Sam Riley (Control), Kenneth Cranham (Rome, Layer Cake) and Lesley Manville (Another Year). Sam Riley has the most interesting role of the bunch as he'll play Maleficent's (Jolie) right hand raven who can turn into a human being. Elle Fanning has finally been confirmed for the part of Princess Aurora with Sharlto Copley playing her father and Angelina Jolie the evil Maleficent.

Elle Fanning In Talks For Princess Aurora In Disney's Maleficent

Twitch reports that the rising star Elle Fanning is now in talks to take the Sleeping Beauty role as Princess Aurora in Disney's Maleficent. The film produced by Joe Roth (Alice In Wonderland, Oz The Great And Powerful) has Angelina Jolie attached to play the villainous sorceress. Along with former production designer Robert Stromberg set to direct. Fanning has been having an amazing run of projects recently with roles in films like Benjamin Button, Somewhere, Super 8 and We Bought A Zoo.

UPDATE: HeatVision adds that Disney is looking for a June production start in London.

Sony Developing A Dracula Franchise

Hollywood seems to have found their new Snow White as a third Dracula project is now in development. Deadline reports that Sony Pictures has bought a pitch from writer Jason Keller focusing on a new untitled Dracula film. Details are scarce on the project but it's expected to be yet another origin story mixing the mythology of Dracula and real life Vlad The Impaler stories. The studio is aiming to develop this as a period piece franchise. It seems to have a bit of weight behind it with producer Joe Roth attached to it.

Roth is best known for producing Alice In Wonderland along with upcoming films Snow White And The Huntsman, Oz, The Great And Powerful and the Sleeping Beauty film Maleficent starring Angelina Jolie. Keller's credits are a mixed bag with films including the terrible looking Snow White cheese-fest Mirror, Mirror. Yet, he's also responsible for Machine Gun Preacher, rewrites on The Tomb (Stallone/Schwarzenegger) and a Michael Mann racing project Go Like Hell. It's interesting to see Keller and Roth working together as the pair worked on competing Snow White films recently.

There are two other Dracula focused films in the works. The first one from Warner Bros., Harker is less similar to this movie as Jonathan Harker a Scotland Yard detective focusing the trail of murders by Dracula being mistaken as a serial murderer. Universal's Dracula Year Zero seems to be the direct competition here as they both feature on the Vlad The Impaler connection. It's unknown at this point if this will be a more fantasy cutesy inspired Dracula take similar to Alice or darker in tone like Huntsman. One thing is for sure that the idea that it's being looked as a franchise means it's going to be a PG-13.

Robert Stromberg Will Direct Maleficent For Disney

Disney originally had Tim Burton set to direct Maleficent (a reimagining of Sleeping Beauty) with Angelina Jolie in mind to star as the villain. The project came about during the massive success of Burton's take on Alice In Wonderland. Disney hoped he could bring the same kind of magic for a new live-action Sleeping Beauty film. It's unknown if Jolie will indeed will end up in the role of Maleficent as it hasn't been made official. Deadline reports that Robert Stromberg will replace Burton as the movie's director. Stromberg is mostly known as production designer and apart of visual effects department on some rather large films.

His credits include production designs for Avatar, Alice In Wonderland and Sam Raimi's Oz, The Great And Powerful. Robert also did visual effects on Boardwalk Empire, The Pacific. Tropic Thunder, Pirates: At World's End, Solaris (2002), Bad Boys 2, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Chronicles of Riddick, Pan's Labyrinth and Shutter Island. I have a strong feeling that this film will end up looking gorgeous but ends up more similar to the tone of Snow White And The Huntsmen.

It's interesting to see how Disney handles their live-action tentpoles considering they have to make these films different enough from their Marvel superhero films. Lone Ranger and Oz seem to keep Disney's fantasy tradition intact while staying in their respected genres. I assume like Alice, Maleficent could look unrecognizable from the original animated film.