It’s back to the fairytale realm for The Huntsman: Winter’s War, which has just dropped a new trailer. As with previous promos, it’s difficult not to get the feeling you’re watching a live-action, more grown-up version of Frozen, and it’s tough to know whether that was the intention or not.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘The fantastical world of Snow White and the Huntsman expands to reveal how the fates of The Huntsman Eric and Queen Ravenna are deeply and dangerously intertwined. Chris Hemsworth and Oscar® winner Charlize Theron return to their roles in The Huntsman Winter’s War, an epic action-adventure in which they are joined by Emily Blunt and Jessica Chastain, as well as director Cedric Nicolas-Troyan. Producer Joe Roth (Maleficent, Alice in Wonderland) once again leads the team in a breathtaking new tale nested in the legendary saga.

‘Long before the evil Queen Ravenna (Theron) was thought vanquished by Snow White’s blade, she watched silently as her sister, Freya (Blunt), suffered a heartbreaking betrayal and fled their kingdom. With Freya’s ability to freeze any enemy, the young ice queen has spent decades in a remote wintry palace raising a legion of deadly huntsmen—including Eric (Hemsworth) and warrior Sara (Chastain)—only to find that her prized two defied her one demand: Forever harden your hearts to love.

‘When Freya learns of her sister’s demise, she summons her remaining soldiers to bring the Magic Mirror home to the only sorceress left who can harness its power. But once she discovers Ravenna can be resurrected from its golden depths, the wicked sisters threaten this enchanted land with twice the darkest force it’s ever seen. Now, their amassing army shall prove undefeatable…unless the banished huntsmen who broke their queen’s cardinal rule can fight their way back to one another.’

The film hits cinemas April 4th. [Read more…]

The big budget ‘summer’ movie season is starting early this year, with the likes of Batman v Superman on March 25th and The Huntsman: Winter’s War on April 4th. The latter has now released its final official poster, which you can see below.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘Discover the story that came before Snow White in The Huntsman: Winter’s War. Chris Hemsworth and Oscar® winner Charlize Theron return to their roles from Snow White and the Huntsman, joined by Emily Blunt and Jessica Chastain.

‘Theron stars as evil Queen Ravenna, who betrays her good sister Freya (Blunt) with an unforgivable act, freezing Freya’s heart to love and unleashing in her an icy power she never knew she possessed. Retreating to a kingdom far to the north, Freya raises an army of Huntsmen as her protectors, with the only rule that no two of them should ever fall in love.

‘As a war for domination escalates between the two queens, the hero standing between them is Freya’s most elite Huntsman, Eric (Hemsworth). Alongside fellow warrior Sara (Chastain)—the only woman who has ever captured his heart—Eric must help Freya vanquish her sister…or Ravenna’s wickedness will rule for eternity.’

[Read more…]

Snow White And The Huntsman star Kristen Stewart may have been let go (having an affair with the married director of the first movie probably didn’t help her chances of getting the call for the sequel), but Chris Hemsworth returns as the Huntsman and Charlize Theron as The Wicked Queen for The Huntsman: Winter’s War.

And yes, that is a new title, as previously it was just called The Huntsman.

A set of character posters has been released, which also feature Emily Blunt as The Ice Queen and Jessica Chastain as The Warrior, with a trailer promised for Wednesday.

Now a vast amount has been released about the plot, but Variety reports that, ‘Blunt plays Theron’s sister, who flees their kingdom after suffering a betrayal. She gains the ability to freeze any enemy, becoming an ice queen who holes up in a wintery palace. Hemsworth and Chastain play her trusted lieutenants. But they run afoul of their queen when they refuse to follow orders and harden their hearts to love.’

As the trade mag notes, ‘the whole thing sounds like “Frozen” with battle scenes’, and they’re not wrong.

It’ll be in UK cinemas April 22nd 2016. [Read more…]