Snow White is going to be one busy princess in 2012.
With no less than three film adaptations of the “Snow White” story racing to the finish line, “Toy Story 3” screenwriter Michael Arndt is negotiating to bring the newest Disney iteration to life.
Entitled “Snow and the Seven,” the new film sets the tale of Snow White in 19th-century China. When Snow, an Englishwoman, travels to Hong Kong for her father’s funeral, she finds that her stepmother has been plotting against her. She escapes to China, and is aided there by a band of – you guessed it – seven Shaolin Monks. No official word on casting of the film, although there have been rumors that Natalie Portman is being considered for the role of Snow.
In other non-Disney news, and just in case you are interested, the other two films are set to begin filming in 2011 for 2012 release dates. Universal is in pre-production for “Snow White and the Huntsman,” which reportedly focuses its attention on Snow White and a huntsman named Eric, who is tasked by the Evil Queen to kill the fair princess. Kristen Stewart is reportedly negotiating for the Snow role, while Viggo Mortenson and Charlize Theron are rumored to be cast as Eric and the Queen, respectively. Finally, Relativity is working on “The Brothers Grimm: Snow White,” which will apparently take a darker, edgier look at the story, introducing some of the elements of the original tale, like dwarfs who are thieves rather than miners, and a scary dragon. Julia Roberts is reportedly in talks to play the bad guy – queen, rather – in this version.
Seems like we’ll have some interesting twists on a familiar favorite to look forward to. And in light of Disney’s declaration that Tangled would be its last fairy tale, the news is interesting to say the least. We’ve seen more than enough comic book heroes adapted for the big screen; I suppose now it’s time to explore the princess angle.
