Snow White and the Huntsman made enough money earlier in the fall to all but guarantee a sequel. Hell, I didn’t even dislike it. It had it’s problems, but I felt they were all entirely fixable. So then Kristen Stewart cheated on her Twilight boyfriend and resident girl-obsession Robert Pattinson (though I really don’t get the attraction people have towards him), with the DIRECTOR of Snow White, Rupert Sanders, and pictures actually surfaced, and all hell broke loose. This story blew up, but then flamed out because of the Olympics, but now it’s flamed back up again.
Turns out that now Kristen Stewart might be dropped from the sequel completely as Universal Studios is planning on shifting the story away from Snow White and spinning it off into The Huntsman’s direction. I don’t think this is really a bad idea at all. Two of the better things the film had going for it were the visual style and Hemsworth’s badassness. Rupert Sanders, really brought a strong visual style to the film, and for it being his very first feature, I am excited to see where his potential goes. His wife also forbade him allegedly from working w/ little K-Stew. Chris Hemsworth also has that rare film quality of being a guy that appeals to men and women. Hell, my girlfriend will probably watch Chris Hemsworth sit in a chair silent for 2 hours if he does it with a shirt off. His character was also pretty awesome and can easily go off and have his own adventures.
If they really forge ahead with a film series that plays as “Dark Fairy Tales” with Hemsworth as the common thread, I see them doing very well. The world they created was awesome, despite the films flaws. Grimm does ok on TV and Once Upon a Time does crazy good. It might be the right time to strike while the fairy tale iron is hot. Also K-Stew commands a big paycheck, so dumping her saves budgetary space and will get sequels made cheaper and easier.
Unfortunately, David Koepp, the writer of Snow White and the Huntsman, may also end up as collateral damage. His job was to write a straight up sequel, and if they head in somewhat of a new direction it looks like they are going to settle his contract and hire someone else.
My Advice:
Do the spinoff. Snow White’s story is pretty much over, and I see a writer of that sequel having an unenviable job. Kristen Stewart does have a legion of fans out there, but she doesn’t seem right as a Warrior Queen. Hemsworth probably comes cheaper and his character is built such that he can go off and have tons of different adventures, plus I see him being similar to like a Hugh Jackman in that everyone seems to like him and with the litany of films he has coming out in the next 2 years, the time to sign him cheap is now. While I mostly enjoyed the movie, I didn’t buy their relationship being anything more than like brother/sister. She seemed to be too young for him.