You get one job wrangling swords and fantastical elements, you apparently get them all. At least, that seems to be the case for VFX expert-turned-director Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, who is following winning the gig making the Highlander reboot with the big chair on **The Huntsman.
The Snow White And The Huntsman sequel hit the news a couple of days ago when it emerged that Frank Darabont, who had been hired to rewrite the script and direct, had bailed citing creative differences. That meant the film needed a director, and Universal have given Nicolas-Troyan the job despite his lack of previous shot-calling work. He does have a big advantage over other candidates though – he worked as visual effects supervisor on the first film.
Plot details on The Huntsman remain sketchy and tough to pin down – previous stories pointed to Chris Hemsworth’s hero on a quest to find the stolen magic mirror and going up against both Charlize Theron’s Ravenna and her evil snow queen sister, potentially to be played by Emily Blunt. Variety’s report on the new director mentions something about exploring how the Huntsman first met Ravenna, before Snow White (Kristen Stewart, who isn’t likely to return for this one) entered the story. Perhaps it will manage both. Whatever happens, the movie needs to be ready for an April 22, 2016 release.