Fresh promotional material has been released in anticipation of the second full-length trailer has demonstrated that the sibling-rivarly between Theron and Blunt is a dish best served ice cold.
Keeping the momentum building, Universal Pictures have now unveiled the first TV trailer for The Huntsman Winter’s War, which is ed by Halsey’s dark but punchy single 'Castle'. The footage itself could be described as a ‘feast for the eyes’ as it is packed to the brim with epic scenes, beautiful costumes (which make all of our wardrobes look a little bit sad) and magical special effects. The star-studded cast is also packing some serious arsenal, even beyond their bow and arrows, axes and swords, their impressive talents are on full display but the question still remains: Will it be enough to make the motion picture a success?
The Huntsman's story may seem familiar, as it's drawing inspiration from Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen - much like Disney’s computer-animated musical fantasy Frozen (you probably have heard of it) did back in 2013. Similarly, The Huntsman: Winter’s War will focus on the villainous Queen Ravenna’s (Theron) betrayal of her 'good' sister Freya (Blunt), causing Freya to (literally) freeze her heart and unleashes an icy power that she never knew she possessed. Freya retreats to a kingdom in the north as a war of domination between the siblings pursues. Freya’s army of Huntsmen, led by Eric (Hemsworth) alongside fellow warrior Sara (Chastain) must overpower her sister in order to stop her wickedness from spreading across the entire kingdom.
Despite the movie’s predecessor Snow White and the Huntsman being a commercial success when it opened in theaters (grossing $396 million worldwide), the prequel could be a Hercules (2014) and a list of direct-to-video animated sequels to his name - and the film's other credited writer, Craig Mazin, lists the two Hangover sequels and a series of subpar parody films in his credits.
On the other hand, the cast of powerhouse performers could certainly help to boost the first-time feature director’s credentials and the story may dig deeper than the (largely) surface material featured in the teasers so far. Interestingly, the IMDB cast list features a number of young actors and actresses taking on roles of the characters as children, including a young Sara (Niamh Walter), Huntsman (Conrad Khan) and Pippa (Amelia Crouch), meaning that we can expect some flashbacks to share backstories and motivations.
The Huntsman: Winter’s War opens in U.S. theaters on April 22nd, 2016.
Sources: Universal Pictures, IMDB