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.
Emily Blunt is returning to the world of fairytales as The Wrap reports she is in negotiations to play the new villain in Unversal's sequel to Snow White And The Huntsman, titled The Huntsman.
Blunt has previously been involved with genre in films such as Gulliver's Travels and Disney's musical Into The Woods. We don't often see the actress portray villains so this could be an interesting character for Emily.
The Wrap also adds that director Frank Darabont (Godzilla, The Mist, The Walking Dead) has exited the project this week citing creative differences. A shame, since we loved what Frank did with both The Walking Dead and The Mist. He also penned the recent draft of the script which had previous worked done by Craig Mazin and Evan Spiliotopoulos
Having both Chris Hemsworth and now possibly Emily Blunt attached as the film's leads it shouldn't be hard to find a new director for the sequel.
The sequel is said to be focusing on Chris Hemsworth's character Eric, and likely won't see the return of Kristen Stewart in any major way while Charlize Theron is expected to reprise her role.
Blunt's character is said to be the evil Snow Queen, sister to Charlize Theron's Ravenna, who was killed in the last film. The Snow Queen is looking to avenge Raveena's death, while Hemworth's Eric The Huntsman is on a mission to find the magic mirror which has been stolen.
The Huntsman's release date has been scheduled for April 22, 2016 which suggests production will begin extremely soon.
This along with last summer's Edge of Tomorrow could help boost Emily's status as an action star seeing her moving into more adventure focused roles in the future.
Carol Danvers is that you?
There's been a huge fan campaign to see Emily Blunt take the role of Carol Danvers in Marvel's Captain Marvel film.
Mainly, due to a rumor back in 2012 from a British paper that purposed the actress was in the mix to play the character Ms Marvel in Avengers 2.
The demand to see her in the role started gathering steam when she took on badass roles in films like Looper and basically playing a character similar to Danvers in Edge of Tomorrow.
You might remember that Emily Bunt was originally cast as Black Widow in Iron Man 2 but had to exit due to Fox pulling her out of the project to take a role in Gulliver's Travels instead. She would go-on to test for the Peggy Carter role in Captain America: The First Avenger but would turn down the role as well.
Since then, it's been somewhat confirmed that a draft of the shooting script for Avengers: Age of Ultron included a cameo from Carol Danvers. Slightly boosting the expectation Carol will indeed make her first appearance in the Avengers sequel.
However, it's unknown if the studio has or will shoot that scene.
We've seen Marvel previously setup future solo films with Chadwick Boseman getting a co-starring role in Captain America: Civil War before his own film Black Panther is released in 2017.
His character's kingdom of Wakanda is said to have an important role to play within Age of Ultron as well.
It's extremely possible that Marvel Studios could cast someone in the role before landing a director for Captain Marvel. Which would help setup her character within the cinematic universe before her solo debut in July 2018.
There are even recent rumors suggesting she'll be apart of the lineup in Avengers: Infinity War Part 1, which is due out months before her solo adventure. Feeding more speculation her origins will likely be told sometime before the events of Infinity War.
I would even go as far to consider Carol Danvers could be apart of Civil War in a minor wayas well, that's if she ends up getting her cameo in Age of Ultron. Also, it not interfering with her involvement with The Huntsman production possibly shooting later-on in the year during reshoots or pick-ups.
During interviews for Into The Woods Blunt finally commented (via Screen Crush) on the campaign to see her take the Captain Marvel role. She went on to suggest it's all rumors and no offer had been made. However, seemed interested in the role if the character was a right fit for her.
"I think, it’s always for me, it’s always about—and now, more so—what am I putting out there? What would be interesting for me and what would be interesting for people to see. So, if it’s an awesome part, it doesn’t matter if it’s a Marvel movie or a tiny movie, I’d be up for it."
"That’s huge. How awesome. I love this. No one has actually called me about it, so, we’ll hold our breath. [Laughs] I don’t know if I’ll get the call ever if I pitch it should be a musical."
Emily blunt has some serious connections to Marvel Studios alumni.
Blunt, Hemswoth and Evans laughing it up!
She recently worked three Marvel actors in the Mexican cartel thriller Sicario. That cast includes Josh Brolin (Thanos), Benicio Del Toro (The Collector) and Maximiliano Hernández (Agent Sitwell).
Another huge Marvel connection comes from her role in director Joe Johnston's (Captain America: The First Avenger) The Wolfman starring opposite Del Toro again but also Anthony Hopkins (Odin) and Hugo Weaving (The Red Skull).
In The Young Victoria, she worked with Paul Bettany (Jarvis and Vision) and Thomas Kretschmann (Baron Wolfgang Strucker).
Emily has also worked with Chris Pratt (Star-Lord) in the Five-Year Engagement and Anthony Mackie (Falcon) in The Adjustment Bureau.
Including Chris Hemsworth (Thor) in The Huntsman, she will have worked with around ten Marvel Studios actors.
Also, check out this image of Emily being extremely chummy with Chris Hemsworth and Captain America'sChris Evans at the Critic's Choice Awards.
Come on, you can't tell me she wouldn't fit-in right alongside that group of actors.
RadarOnline (via FilmSchoolRejects) has word that Universal is pushing to bring back Kristen Stewart for the sequel to Snow White And The Huntsman. It had been reported previously the studio was looking to make the sequel centered around The Huntsman played by Chris Hemsworth. David Koepp was hired to develop a script while this new report says David is now gone but a script is ready to go. However, the big news is that Rupert Sanders won't be back to direct but the project is still being aimed to start shooting at the end of 2013. It's unknown how concrete this new information is so take it as a rumor for now.
During the London red carpet premire of Snow White And The Huntsman director Rupert Sanders was asked by HeyUGuys about what was he next project. He was coy about a Huntsman sequel but revealed an untitled science fiction project that was being influenced by The Battle of Algiers. I just realized what Rupert could have been referring to with his ambiguous statement. It could end up being the long in-development reboot of Dune.
When Ridley Scott was attached to direct Dune he intended to split the book into two movies. He worked on three drafts of the script, using The Battle of Algiers as a point of reference, before moving on to direct Blade Runner instead. This little tidbit of information is from Ridley Scott: The Making of his Movies by Paul M. Sammon. The original Dune was a massive flop but would eventually become a cult favorite similar to Ridley's Blade Runner. It's possible this could have been a slight hint to sci-fi fans from Rupert.
Directors Peter Berg (Hancock, Battleship) and Pierre Morel (Taken, From Paris With Love) been attached to a new Dune film before the project went into limbo. It's quite possible that Rupert is at least in talks with Paramount and the Dune rights holder to put together a new package for the reboot. Sanders has a visual presence that dwarves previous attached directors. Along with his fantasy background from making Huntsman he also has a sci-fi background helming live-action commercials for Halo. Sanders had been inline to take over the Halo film from Neill Blomkamp before that project went into limbo too. I think if given a solid script Sanders could help develop one hell of a new Dune franchise. He's still in talks with Universal for the Huntsman sequel which isn't a done deal (Sanders only signed up for one film).
Universal Pictures could have hit on their hands when the final box numbers for Snow White And The Huntsman roll out. Deadline is reporting the studio is fast tracking the sequel with screenwriter David Koepp (Spider-Man, Jurassic Park, Mission: Impossible) that been in talks back in April. All signs point to Universal aiming for the return of director Rupert Sanders for the next installment.
Sanders had stated on red carpets he was prepared to jump back for a sequel if need be but has another project in the que. Considering he had a decent deal with the studio the first time around it wouldn't be hard to see him come back. While I felt the film had a lacking script, Sanders created a wonderful world that we only got a small glimpse into it's true scope. A majority of the film's problems stem from a rushed release date due to a competing film. This time around they'll likely be given the extra time to make a better movie.
They will also likely bring back key cast members from the first film. Mainly, Chris Hemsworth as the Aussie actor is the most bankable star of the budding franchise thanks to the quality of his other projects (Thor, Avengers, Cabin In The Woods) boosting his international appeal. It had been reported that the studio was aiming for a spin-off focusing on the Huntsman which likely will be the case as Snow White doesn't really have a motive to continue into another film. Considering the sheer hate from audiences and critics alike I'd be hard-pressed to expect the studio make Kristen Stewart's Snow White a main character in the sequel.
During an interview with Google+ Aussie actor Chris Hemsworth gave a brief statement on the rumors of him starring in his own Huntsman focused spin-off. It had been reported that Universal hired screenwriter David Koepp to write a treatment for a sequel to Snow White And The Huntsman with Rupert Sanders expected to return as director. The catch is that the film would center around Hemsworth's character likely without Steward and Theron being involved. It's not surprising since Universal currently doesn't have a string of franchises to rely on. Chris has two rather strong franchises already with Thor and Avengers. It would be smart for the studio to capitalize if Snow White is successful as well.
“Yeah, sure, if there’s an audience for it and people wanna see it and there’s a great script and room to do something different with it, absolutely. I’ve heard probably the same rumors you have about possible sequels to this or prequels as far as the Huntsman’s storyline [goes]. We’re pretty elusive for the most of it; he begins having suffered some sort of trauma in a whole life before this point, and then at the end it’s left open as well. We had endless discussions about ‘where does he come from and why does he do this and what’s this about?’ and it all of a sudden opened up all these ideas about his whole life prior to this. I said, at one stage, ‘Maybe he could sort of spin-off into Cinderella world and then Sleeping Beauty, and he’s a Huntsman through the fairy tales,’ but that got shot down pretty quick (laughs).”
During a red carpet interview with HeyUGuys director Rupert Sanders revealed a second project he's been working on. We've already know that studio is keen on Snow White And The Huntsman and want a sequel focusing on the Huntsman. It makes sense with star Chris Hemsworth's Avengers becoming one the biggest films of all-time. That the studio would want to pursue more starring vehicles for Hemsworth. Rupert also mentions a sci-fi project he's been working on. You might remember that the direct made a string of live-action commercials for HALO: ODST and HALO: REACH. He was also rumored to be in the mix for the live-action film which is currently in limbo.
Sanders reveals that besides a sequel he's working on an untitled science fiction film loosely based on the 1966 film Battle of Algiers. The film is based on the real events that took place during the Algerian revolution against the French foreign legion. One of the bloodiest uprisings in modern history the film is a brutal look at modern warfare. I can only imagine seeing these dark themes used in the backdrop of science fiction film. Halo commercial alumni, Neil Blomkamp's District 9 and his upcoming Elysium have both used similar commentaries from history. District 9 contrasting South African Apartheid with a stranded alien population.
A film commissioned by the Algerian government that shows the Algerian revolution from both sides. The French foreign legion has left Vietnam in defeat and has something to prove. The Algerians are seeking independence. The two clash. The torture used by the French is contrasted with the Algerian's use of bombs in soda shops. A look at war as a nasty thing that harms and sullies everyone who participates in it.
Deadline reports that Universal is in current talks with screenwriter David Koepp to start working the sequel to Snow White And The Huntsman. Koepp is best known for writing and adapting scripts for Jurassic Park, Jurassic Park II: The Lost World, Mission: Impossible, Carlito's Way, Death Becomes Her, Stir of Echos, Panic Room and Spider-Man. Before we get too excited he also contributed to uneven films like The Shadow, Indiana Jones And The Kingdom of The Crystal Skulls, War of The Worlds and Angels And Demons. His next project coming to theaters is Men In Black 3 which could go either way, so let's hope they get another writer in there just to be sure.
The film directed by newcomer Rupert Sanders won't be released until June but the studio is looking to fast track it's sequel. Sanders is wanted to helm the second film and it could be his next directorial effort. It's been said that the next film would focus on The Huntsman played by Chris Hemsworth. This gives the impression that Hemsworth had a stronger performance compared to Kristen Stewart's Snow White, who has little to zero dialog in the trailers and TV spots. It's also not surprising with the impending international success of Avengers and Thor 2 set to be released in November 2013. We shouldn't have to wait that long as turnaround on the first film was eight months which is very quick all things considered wouldn't be shocked to see this in theaters later 2013 or summer 2014.
Snow White And The Huntsman won't be in theaters until June but it looks like Universal Pictures loves what they've seen. The trailers and TV spots have had a decent impact compared to the box office bomb Mirror Mirror. BleedingCool picked up on a small tidbit in a THR article that states if successful Universal will be looking at a sequel focusing on The Huntsman played by Chris Hemsworth. I assume this means that director Rupert Sanders will also be returning for more films.
It's not hard to understand why Universal would want to develop a franchise around the Aussie actor. Hemsworth has been front and center along with Charlize Theron in the promotions for the film. He's already a fixture with two franchises Thor and Avengers. Not to mention his horror thriller Cabin In The Woods hits theaters next week and has been praised by bloggers/reviewers. He also has the Red Dawn remake set for a release later in the year. As a bonus it looks like Kristen Stewart won't be in this sequel.
It hasn't been a great journey for the He-Man: Masters of The Universe reboot. Originally setup at Warner Bros. with producer Joel Silver and director John Stevenson (Kung Fu Panda) going to make the remake. The project eventually seemed too expensive or creatively off for the studio and it got the axe. There hasn't been any news on the film until now. BleedingCool reports Sony is resurrecting the project at Escape Artists. No screenwriter or director has been mentioned but with the success of Thor this now might be a priority for Sony. A mix between Thor and Flash Gordon the film has some potential to become a fun fantasy blockbuster. This movie could really work if the scale is there along with a strong cast.
I feel like the Hemsworth brothers would be perfect for the role of He-Man. Chris Hemsworth has pretty much edged himself as the go to guy for fantasy leads with roles as Thor and The Huntsman. I think if anyone could breathe a third dimension into to He-Man it would be Chris. His brother Liam is also gathering some action credit of his own with Hunger Games and Expendables 2 on the horizon.
