While Universal may have lost the release date battle against Relativity for their competing Snow White films, they may have very well won the war. Time will tell, but while Tarsem is currently very, very busy filming his movie and hoping to make it in time for its spring release, Universal has calmly cast up “Snow White and the Huntsman” and fuck, if we didn’t care before, we’re definitely on board now.
Nick Frost — who you should know from “Shaun of the Dead,” “Hot Fuzz” and “Paul” — is now the seventh and final dwarf to be cast, joining Ian McShane, Toby Jones, Bob Hoskins, Eddie Marsan, Stephen Graham and Ray Winstone as the small-sized contingent in the film (it looks like Eddie Izzard, previously tipped for a role, has quietly exited). The already starry cast features Chris Hemsworth, Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Sam Clafin, Lily Cole and Sam Spruell in a retelling of the classic fairy tale in which the woodsman (Hemsworth), who is meant to bump off the titular princess (Stewart), winds up training her instead to fight her evil stepmother (Theron).
What else can we say about this cast? It’s a fantastic round-up of thesps and while it will be coming on the heels of Tarsem’s still-untitled movie starring Julia Roberts, Armie Hammer and Lily Collins, the talent alone makes it stand out from the pack of no-names that round out their competition’s film. And as “Larry Crowne” proved recently, Roberts is no longer an instant guarantee of box office success and Tarsem’s film is way outside her wheelhouse, so Relativity might be starting to sweat a bit.
Rupert Sanders will get behind the camera of “Snow White and the Hunstman” this fall with a June 1, 2012 release date slated. And oh yeah, if all goes well, it’s going to be trilogy. [Variety]
