Long before the general public would decide whether or not Snow White and the Huntsman is something they're even interested in seeing, producer Joe Roth (Alice in Wonderland) revealed that plans for the film to kick off a trilogy were already being developed.
Universal Chief Ron Meyer has since talked up the idea that the fairy tale-inspired project could give rise to a full-blooded, fantasy epic franchise. As further proof still that the studio heads are serious about this idea: Deadline is reporting that Universal has begun talks for David Koepp to pen a followup.
For those (few?) who don't immediately recognize his name, Koepp has helped script installments in seemingly every other Hollywood tentpole franchise over the past two decades - including, Jurassic Park, Mission: Impossible, Spider-Man, Men in Black and Indiana Jones. In addition to his multiple collaborations with directors like Steven Spielberg and Brian De Palma, Koepp has previously teamed up with such prolific filmmakers as David Fincher (Panic Room) and Ron Howard (Angels & Demons), among others.
Of course, Koepp's blockbuster output has ranged in quality from quite good (Jurassic Park, Spider-Man) to pretty underwhelming (The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) - as does the rest of his filmography in general. Seeing how most of the less-popular entries on Koepp's writing resume have been secondary series installments, the news that he's being recruited to write a Snow White and the Huntsman sequel could be interpreted as a mixed blessing - or a troubling harbinger.
Deadline says the reason Koepp is already being brought aboard to pen a Huntsman followup (just over a month before the film hits theaters) is because Universal wants the project ready to go ASAP, in the hopes of convincing Snow White and the Huntsman director Rupert Sanders to make it his sophomore, feature-length helming effort. Assuming the movie is the hit many people (us included) are anticipating, that's probably a good idea, seeing how Sanders could become a red-hot-in-demand filmmaker very soon.
Meyer has indicated that the tentative plan is for the sequel to focus more on the Huntsman character (The Avengers' Chris Hemsworth), though Snow White (Twilight's Kristen Stewart) would presumably still have a part to play in the story. Bear in mind, things are clearly just taking shape right now - and, as mentioned before, the first Snow White flick hasn't even been released yet. Once that happens, though, we should have a more concrete idea of what the next chapter in this would-be franchise could entail.
Snow White and the Huntsman hits theaters around the U.S. on June 1st, 2012.
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Source: Deadline