The director of Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters has confirmed that he is currently working on bringing the further escapades of the two fairy tale adventurers back to the screen. However Tommy Wirkola has stated that it won't be via a movie sequel or prequel - and as previously reported it will be a TV series, instead.

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters wasn't initially a huge critical or financial success. It just about made its budget back in the US ($55m), but went on to gross over $226m worldwide and made a sequel a viable option. The mixture of R-rated action, B-movie antics, and the fairy tale backdrop also won it a substantial fan base. The fact that it had popular actors Jeremy Renner (The Avengers: Infinity War) and Gemma Arterton (Byzantium) in the lead roles, also lent it some long-lasting interest. A sequel was drafted and even given a title (Hansel and Gretel: Death's Messengers), but the tentative release date in 2016 came and went without further sign of the production. Eventually rumors circulated that a sequel would be abandoned in favor of a Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters cable TV series.

Related: Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters 2 Unused Concept Art

That rumor has now been verified by Wirkola himself, as reported by Bloody Disgusting. While promoting his Netflix movie Whatever Happened to Monday, the director revealed that he has indeed been working on a Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters TV series and hopes to see it filmed soon:

" ... The film [sequel] is pretty much dead ... we're developing it into a TV show with Paramount and MGM, who are the studios who financed it, so Mark Verheiden is writing the pilot as of now, Mark, of course, is a big writer, lastly he did Daredevil and Evil Dead and as of now, he's writing a pilot right now, and we're hoping to take it out to networks in the near future ... I will be involved in that whole process, and I will direct the pilot, so I think it's very exciting, it's an idea that really suits television."

Jeremy Renner in Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters

Unsurprisingly given their stature and schedules now, the original pairing of Renner and Arterton is not on the cards for the show, and new casting will take place. Wirkola also stated that the Witch Hunters TV show will keep the R-rating tone and maybe push it a little further than the movie did. More interesting though is his commitment to expand the world that Hansel and Gretel inhabit, and to introduce more fairy tale creatures and monsters into the mix:

"I think it's natural that in that world, there would be all different kinds of supernatural beings and creatures, it's just in a way, it's a fairytale world and we're living in it, so there are no limits to where we can go."

It's an enticing project and as long as it doesn't revert into just a copy of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or simply become a monster-of-the-week series, a Witch Hunters TV show could well match the film for uncomplicated supernatural fun with a bit of an edge to it. Wirkola is still currently working on superhero project Irredeemable and many genre fans would like to see another sequel to his Dead Snow movies. Hopefully though, the Witch Hunter TV series will actually come to fruition and retain the same elements that made the original film a (guilty) pleasure for many.

NEXT: Movies-Turned TV Shows That Are Currently In Development

We'll bring you more news about the Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters TV show as we get it.

Source: Bloody Disgusting