‘Snow White and the Hunstman’ is the re-imagining of the original Brothers Grimm children’s folk tale. Made popular by Walt Disney, Universal’s story is not intended to be one where little gnomes whistle while they work. This ‘Snow White’ is a modern tale of good vs. evil where the damsel in distress is hardly that. Instead, our raven-haired beauty is taught the ‘Way of the Woods’ by a weathered Huntsman and learns to fight for herself.Our story starts much the way of the Disney fairy tale: the Evil Queen hires the Hunstman to kill the fairest in the land- Snow White. When he discovers that the Queen has deceived him, he decides to run off into the Dark Forest with Snow White in tow. There, The Huntsman begins to teach Snow White how to defend herself as the Queen’s henchmen search for them. As she learns to fight, they travel through the woods and encounter harrowing adventures and horrors- trolls, fairies, and even a band of dwarfs! The Huntsman is her protector, but also her mentor. He helps her become physically and mentally strong so she can be ready for her destiny.
What makes this re-imaging so unique is that each character is not just a fairy-tale shell. Snow White refuses to be a damsel that needs to be saved by a Prince; The Huntsman is haunted by his past and lives his life seeking revenge against those who stole that which was most precious to him; the Evil Queen thrives for beauty above all, but it is more than vanity that motivates her; and even the Prince isn’t merely a handsome prop there to save a pretty girl. This isn’t a story of “Who will Snow White chose to love?” or “Who will save Snow White from the clutches of the Evil Queen?” or “Will they all live happily ever after?” It is not necessarily an epic love triangle, and the girl may just save herself. But together, all of the characters in this story create an action-packed world in a dark and daring tale of heroism.
The Universal film, produced by Joe Roth, began filming in London this August to prepare for a June 1, 2012 release date. “It’s meant to be the first in a series of films,” Joe Roth said in an interview with EW. “This story will end, but there will be questions remaining for these three characters.” Co-starring with Kristen Stewart is Academy Award winner Charlize Theron, ‘Thor’ actor Chris Hemsworth and ‘Pirates of the Carribean’ newcomer Sam Claflin.
Rounding out the cast are an impressive array of British actors portraying the dwarfs:
Ian McShane will play Beith, the head dwarf; Bob Hoskins will play Muir, the oldest, blind dwarf; Toby Jones will be Coll; Johnny Harris is Quert; Nick Frost as Nion; Eddie Marsan and Ray Winstone are set to play Duir and Gort, respectively; and Brian Glesson rounds out the band of eight as Gus, the youngest dwarf.
Also in the cast are Lily Cole as ‘Rose’ and Sam Spruell as the malevolent ‘Finn’.
Snow White’s parents will be portrayed by Liberty Ross and Nick Huntley