Moving from comic book mythology to revisionist fairy tale, the career of Chris Hemsworth is proceeding full speed ahead, though it seems firmly anchored in the fantastic.
Coming off the smash hit that is Thor, Hemsworth has just signed to appear in Snow White and the Huntsman, a new version of Grimm's tale of that poor Snow White, written by Evan Daugherty and directed by Rupert Sanders.
Hemsworth will play the part of the Huntsman to Kristen Stewart's Snow White. But I'm most excited by the casting of Charlize Theron as Ravenna, the evil stepmother who orders the Huntsman to kill Snow White. Word is that Angelina Jolie and Winona Ryder were considered for the part before Theron nabbed it. I believe her to be one of our most underrated actresses, so I'm looking forward to seeing what she does with the role.
It seems every part in this flick was famously up for grabs at some point. Riley Keough, Bella Heathcoate, Saoirse Ronan and Dakota Fanning were all looked at for the role of Snow White, which eventually went to Stewart (and her built-in Twilight fan base). Johnny Depp, Viggo Mortensen and Hugh Jackman were all pursued to play the Huntsman, but I'm sure the producers are more than happy to have Hemsworth step in and swing his mighty hammer of box office grosses.
The story fabricated for Snow White and the Huntsman seems to hew pretty closely to the standard Snow White tale. When Snow White's status changes to "Fairest in the Land," her jealous stepmother decides to have her killed by the Huntsman, who in this telling is a mercenary drunkard named Eric who is forever haunted by the death of his wife, Sara. But then there's some silliness about a White Wolf who killed Sara and works for Ravenna or something. And, yes, there's a prince named Charmant (seriously), played by Sam Claflin. Expect fantastical dark action and adventure bordering on the whimsically ridiculous.
So, while Snow White and the Huntsman seems to have started strongly by casting all the right people, it might well go totally off course by the time it hits the multiplexes. But no surprise there. These things always fall apart in the third act.
