Universal Pictures’ Snow White and the Huntsman, directed by first-timer Rupert Sanders, has grossed nearly $390 million worldwide, so it’s no surprise that the studio already expressed interest in making a sequel. Sanders had already been developing that sequel with screenwriter David Koepp, but recent fallout that’s reared its head after Sander’s affair with the film’s star, Kristen Stewart, may be contributing to the studio’s decision to scrap those plans and instead make a spin-off starring Chris Hemsworth’s character, the Huntsman.
It’s actually not the first time reports have surfaced that the “Snow White” sequel could be based on the character of the Huntsman. Back in April, Universal chief Ron Meyer said that they could go that route if the film was successful.
The update comes from Deadline in a story announcing that Universal has picked up the movie rights to Dean Unkefer’s fictionalized novel “90 Church: The True Story of the Narcotics Squad from Hell,” which will be published by Random House in May 2013 for Sanders to direct with Snow White and the Huntsman producers Joe Roth and Palak Patel.
The title of the novel written by a former agent and the planned film refers to the address in New York City where the Federal Bureau of Narcotics was formed to combat organized crime and drug traffic in the mid ’60s before it eventually merged with the DEA.
In the meantime, The Hollywood Reporter has added a few more details about the studio’s plans which involves settling with David Koepp and finding a new screenwriter for the “Huntsman” spin-off.
No word on which side of the Snow White and the Huntsman custody battle Charlize Theron will fall upon or whether she might return as her character, the Evil Queen, in any sort of planned spin-off.
