The tale of “The Huntsman” gets curiouser and curiouser.
The “Snow White and the Huntsman” sequel-turned-prequel first got on our radar for ditching its star, Kristen Stewart, and its protagonist, Snow White, i.e., the elements that arguably made the action-fantasy a hit.
Now “The Huntsman” has announced the addition of Jessica Chastain and Emily Blunt to the cast in as-yet-unknown roles. The triple whammy of Blunt, Chastain, and returning co-star Charlize Theron certainly sparks our interest in the film, and yet it’s a little iffy that, three years into development, Universal still hasn’t found a premise or a hook with which to sell us this franchise-extender. And with such female star power maybe it’s time to change the title to reflect their presence since we continue to be unimpressed with Chris Hemsworth as the titular Huntsman.
The one thing we can be pretty certain about “The Huntsman” is that it will a special-effects extravaganza, as it boasts for its director first-timer Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, who won an Oscar for his work on “Snow White and the Huntsman.” Here is another male first timer getting that brass ring of directing a big budget film. It’s the same hiring tack producer Joe Roth previously employed for “Maleficent,” which gave another VFX guy, Robert Stromberg, a shot at the director’s seat. We have not yet seen a female special effects expert get promoted to directing a big budget feature, yet this seems to be another male access point to directing.
“The Huntsman” will be released April 22, 2016.
[via Deadline]
