The 2012 film Snow White and the Huntsman was a pretty solid box office success. Starring Kristen Stewart as Snow White, Chris Hemsworth as the Huntsman, and Charlize Theron as the Evil Queen, the film resonated strongly with audiences, grossing just under $400 million worldwide. It was more than enough money to earn a sequel, and that follow-up has finally arrived; The Huntsman: Winter's War, is out on Apr. 22. But will that film conclude the series, or will The Huntsman: Winter's War get a sequel, too?
It hasn't yet been determined, but when Snow White and the Huntsman was first announced, the film was expected to be part of a planned trilogy, centering around Stewart's Snow White. But as you may have noticed, Snow White isn't even in Winter's War — so are three films still the case? It's unlikely. As you may recall, after Stewart and Snow White's director, Rupert Sanders, engaged in a romantic affair during the first movie's filming, for which they both publicly apologized, Stewart was dropped by Universal from the planned sequel, as was Sanders. Afterwards, the studio went through a number of plans, directors, and writers before ending up on the prequel/sequel Winter's War, which adds Emily Blunt and Jessica Chastain to the core cast alongside Theron and Hemsworth.
So now, the planned Snow White and the Huntsman trilogy has turned into one Snow White movie followed by one movie about the Huntsman, who himself seems mostly relegated to the background to focus more on the relationship between the Evil Queen and her sister, Blunt's Ice Queen. So what does this mean moving forward? Will there be another Huntsman movie? A Queen sisters spin-off? Will Stewart return as Snow White and end up rounding out the trilogy anyway?
As of right now, it doesn't look like there are any plans to further this franchise. In order for it to continue, Winter's War would have to make big bucks at the box office — no easy feat, considering that it'll be competing with the very successful Jungle Book in its second weekend. Critically, Huntsman faces an uphill road, as it has just 16 percent on Rotten Tomatoes after 55 reviews. But that doesn't mean a follow-up film is out of the question, because it still has a shot — thanks to China.
As has often been seen before, big films with middling reviews can sometimes find their saving grace at the massive Chinese box office, and Winter's War was able to secure a release in China. This takes off some of the pressure of the film having to perform well stateside, and if it does well enough in China, that may convince the studio to go ahead and make a third movie. It still might seem like a long shot, but if Winter's War makes serious money, then fans could certainly see the Huntsman return for a third outing someday.
Images: Universal Pictures; giphy.com
