Snow White's pal the Huntsman is returning to theaters on April 22 in The Huntsman: Winter's War . Chris Hemsworth will once again play Eric the Huntsman, just as he did in 2012's Snow White and the Huntsman, but this time, he won't be joined by Kristen Stewart's Snow White. Instead, the character is reunited with his old lover, the warrior Sara (Jessica Chastain), and the two of them must team up against not only Charlize Theron's evil queen Ravenna, but also her sister, the ice queen Freya (Emily Blunt). So there's a lot going on, and you'd be pretty lost if you didn't see the first movie. So what happened in the first Huntsman movie?
Quite a bit it seems, but weirdly enough, not all of it is super relevant to the goings-on of the new movie. That's because The Huntsman: Winter's War acts as both a prequel and a sequel to Snow White and the Huntsman. The new film starts off in the past, before Snow White's time, so you don't really need to have seen the first one to get that portion of the film. But then later on it jumps to the present, and takes place after Snow White and the Huntsman. Therefore, it's definitely a good idea to figure out what happened in the first movie before diving into the second. So here's what you might have missed in Snow White and the Huntsman.
The Weirdest Fertility Drug Ever
The movie begins with Snow White's mother, Queen Eleanor, pricking her finger on a rose and letting her blood drop onto the snow. She wishes for a daughter who's as white as snow with lips as red as blood. Kind of an odd wish to make, but it comes true. Eleanor gives birth to her custom-made child, and then promptly dies.
An Invasion & The Old Switcheroo
The kingdom of Snow White's father, King Magnus, is invaded by evil warriors made of glass. During the ensuing battle, the king rescues the army's prisoner, Ravenna, and marries her. She then reveals herself to be the leader of the evil army, kills Magnus, takes over the kingdom, and locks Snow White in a tower. So, yeah, Snow White had a pretty rough childhood.
Hocus Pocus Style
Because she's evil and does evil stuff, Ravenna sucks the life energy out of young women in the kingdom to stay young and beautiful. Glenn Close would be so proud. Then one day, while talking to her mirror, mirror, on the wall, she learns that Snow White will destroy her unless she eats her heart first. Clearly there are no half-measures in this kingdom.
Enter Thor, I Mean, The Huntsman
Snow White escapes her tower, and Ravenna hires The Huntsman to track her down and cut out her heart, in exchange for bringing his dead wife back to life. He's on board with the plan, until he learns that Ravenna can't actually bring his wife back from the dead. So he teams up with Snow White instead.
The Seven, Err, Eight Dwarves... Wait, Is This Right?
After some hardships along the way, Snow White and the Huntsman team up with eight dwarves. Why isn't it the classic seven dwarves? Because this is a hip, modern, reimagining. Try and keep up!
Apple Genius
Ravenna disguises herself as Snow White's crush, William, and gives her a poisoned apple. I admit, this is a better disguise than the terrifying old crone in the Disney version. Why anyone would eat an apple given to her by someone who looks that frightening is beyond me.
Snow Knight
Snow White is awoken after the Huntsman kisses her, which is weird because William kissing her didn't wake her up. She then gathers an army and dons armor, and storms Ravenna's castle. Snow White kills Ravenna, and is crowned the new queen, with William as her king. The Huntsman leaves to presumably find more sleeping women to make out with.
So that's it. That's the basic plot of Snow White and the Huntsman. And now that you're all caught up, you can see The Huntsman: Winter's War and totally, 100 percent understand what's going on. Maybe.
Images: Universal Pictures; giphy.com
