In September, we reported Universal, Relativity, and Disney each had a Snow White film in development, and each promised a unique twist on the old fairy tale (huntsmen, thieving dwarfs, and Shaolin monks respectively.) Then we detailed the heated battle between co-financing partners, Relativity and Universal, to beat each other to the box office, and relayed Relativity had an early lead, offering the director’s chair of The Brothers Grimm: Snow White to the imaginative director behind The Fall, Tarsem Singh.
Well, in the ongoing Snow White showdown, Universal has just pulled ahead with news (via Playlist) that Tom Hardy, Inception’s dashing scene-stealer, is looking to play the Huntsman of Snow White and the Huntsman. There’s been tons of buzz around the spec script that sold for millions in a year when the spec script market was thought dead. Screenwriter Evan Daughtery’s Huntsman doesn’t just spare the fair-skinned princess’s life and leave her panicked in the deep dark woods. This time around, he helps her escape, and while the duo is on the run, mentors her on survival.
While Hardy’s involvement guarantees buzz and new fans for the project, Universal will have to get production in gear in short order to fit into the man of the moment’s hectic shooting schedule. At present, Hardy is slated to shoot This Means War until December of 2010, while fitting in a small role in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, before taking on the role of the still mysterious villain in Christopher Nolan’s Batman 3, which is set to begin production in March or April of 2011. So basically, if Universal wants him on board, they have to get into gear and fast-track production, which looks to be the plan.
Universal is currently seeking out their Snow White, undergoing a massive open casting call in the U.K. as they look to bring in an unknown. Then for some added star power, the studio is cajoling Angelina Jolie to play the murderous stepmother, Ravenna. However, Jolie will be in post production on her untitled directorial debut in early 2011, and is also attached to the Tim Burton Maleficent project, so it’s hard to say if she’ll sign on, though she has shown interest.
With the massive success of Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, it’s little wonder fairy tales are looking to be the next big trend, but hopefully this rush to churn out what audiences seem to crave won’t result in jumbled ugly films. Happily, Playlist has read Snow White and the Huntsman, and declares,”It’s faithful to the fairy tale, beat-for-beat, but manages to remain fresh and surprising,” while being, “one of the better action-adventure scripts we’ve read in a while.”
As for The Brothers Grimm: Snow White and Snow White and the Seven, we’ll have to wait in see.
Which Snow White project are you most interested in? Do you think fairy tales will be the next Hollywood trend?