The Kidd here...
UPDATE #2: The rumors on this one have gotten so badly and so intermingled with reality that now Universal has had to go so far as to release a statement on the fact that no one is going anywhere right now. This comes all the way from the top from Universal Co-Chairman Donna Langley:
"We are extremely proud of SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN and we’re currently exploring all options to continue the franchise. Any reports the Kristen Stewart has been dropped are false.”
This thing has taken on a life all of its own... and sadly none of that life is true. I'll take responsibility for being premature with my story... that's on me. Is anyone else following though? Or have they remained quiet because the untruth is more interesting than what's really going on?
UPDATE: The Hollywood Reporter may have jumped the gun with their reports of Kristen Stewart's demise with the SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN series, which means I'm guilty of doing the same. The difference is that I then checked and double-checked through some sources in order to really get the lay of the land over at Universal regarding ALL projects even remotely connected to SWATH, and here's what I've managed to dig up.
Kristen Stewart is not out of anything... at least not yet.
David Koepp was brought on to write a sequel to SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN. He delivered his draft. Universal has that in their hands, and now he's moving onto something else.
THE HUNTSMAN spin-off is something that Universal has been tossing around for months now, so that's really nothing new. They may still wind up making it. They may not. They may decide to make a SNOW WHITE sequel. They may not. They may decide to use Kristen Stewart for that sequel if it happens... and if it doesn't, then they won't... at least for that film.
They don't have a script for THE HUNTSMAN spin-off at this point, so there's no telling if Snow White will play a part in it, which, in turn, means there's no telling if Kristen Stewart will be involved.
As far as Rupert Sanders' involvement, it falls along the same lines of who knows at this point. I can tell you that he was only signed on for the one film, so, if Universal does decide to bring him back to the director's chair, they'll have to negotiate a new deal for him to do so.
And really there's no timetable for any decisions to be made, because Chris Hemsworth is incredibly busy with his Marvel committments, not to mention SHADOW RUNNERS for Sony, possible involvement in ROBOPOCALYPSE with Steven Spielberg and is still attached to star in IN THE HEART OF THE SEA. Who knows where a Snow White movie or spin-off would slot in?
So, in the end, Kristen Stewart is right in line with the rest of the SNOW WHITE prospects for Universal. It's all in limbo until Universal ultimately chooses which direction they want to go in... and there's no telling when that might be.
Now you've got the whole true story.
* * * * * * *
And then there was just THE HUNTSMAN.
In a surprising turn of events, Universal is now moving ahead on a solo spin-off movie featuring Chris Hemsworth in his Huntsman character stemming from this summer's hit SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, all plans for a sequel to SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN starring Kristen Stewart as her half of the titular equation have been dropped, and there are no plans to extend an invitation to Stewart to be a part of this new direction if it does in fact take hold.
There's no doubt that Kristen Stewart was terribly miscast as Snow White, but SWATH did bank $389.2 million worldwide. Usually, if it ain't broke, the studio won't even try to fix it. That makes the rumblings that director Rupert Sanders would return to the helm for the spin-off all the more confusing.
Clearly aspects of Universal's decision here stem from recent developments involving Stewart and Sanders, but it seems like Stewart is getting the raw deal here if she's the one being kicked to the curb, even if she's hardly the right fit for the Snow White role.
Does anyone really want to see a movie based around the Huntsman? How does that work given the ending of SWATH?
There's just nothing about this thing that feels right, and the entire SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN franchise should just be left alone, if Universal doesn't feel comfortable moving ahead with their choice for Snow White.
-Billy Donnelly
"The Infamous Billy The Kidd"
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