Say it with us now: Franchise! That Universal has their fingers crossed to get multiple movies out of "Snow White & The Huntsman" is absolutely no surprise, and it looks like they're getting their wish.
In fact, it was a year ago that producer Joe Roth first brought up the idea of a trilogy saying, "This story will end, but there will be questions remaining for these three characters." Then this spring, Universal COO Ron Meyer teased, "while the upcoming 'Snow White and the Huntsman' film doesn’t appear to lend itself to a sequel, Universal thinks it can do more movies based on the character of the Huntsman if it is successful." A couple of weeks later, word broke that the studio was already engaging director Rupert Sanders to return with David Koepp to write the screenplay. And while there was a brief moment of hesitation before the film opened, once it collected $118 million worldwide in its first weekend, Universal breathed a sigh of relief that they didn't have another "Battleship" on their hands.
So onward with the sequel! Deadline reports that a sequel is on fast track, and with the principal actors all having options in their contract to return, the only question now is if Sanders will be back to helm the film. He isn't obliged to do it, and although he recently revealed he's got a couple of projects brewing—a movie about the history of the DEA and a sci-fi take on "The Battle Of Algiers"—perhaps he could work out some kind of one-for-them, one-for-me deal with Universal. Also, he's in a good place to negotiate too, and could also get a helluva payday for the gig.
The only determining fact on if "Snow White & The Huntsman 2" gets made is what kind of legs the movie has. The movie cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $170 million (not counting P&A), so it's not quite out of the woods yet, but is off to a great start. If it can keep its head above water in the competitive next few weeks, it looks like Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth and Sam Clafin will be back for more fairy tale adventures.
