Sure, there are already two live action Snow White films in production, but if there's any studio that knows that fairytale, it's Disney. As such, it shouldn't be terribly unexpected that the House of Mouse would be coming out with its own retelling of the princess and dwarves story; what they're doing with it, however, may be a bit of a surprise.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio is moving forward with its far east, warrior-focused version of the tale; now called "The Order of the Seven," it's been in development for years, and, so says THR, will actually minimize the aspects associated with the Grimm legend. It will be trading those trappings for an ancient action storyline that will feature a band of warriors from around the world that, once downtrodden, are galvanized by meeting an English woman in China.
As recently as February, the film was in development under the title, "Snow and the Seven," and had what seems to be a similar storyline to what we see today: an Englishwoman goes to Hong Kong for her father's funeral and realizes that her evil stepmother was plotting her murder, at which point she turns to the warriors for protection. Natalie Portman was rumored to be semi-attached to that project, but whether that's still the case remains to be seen.
Whoever gets the lead, to the extent that the film is still loosely based on the fairytale, will have stiff competition to be the definitive live action face of the beloved princess. Kristen Stewart is starring as a warrior-in-training princess alongside Chris Hemsworth and Evil Queen Charlize Theron in "Snow White and the Huntsman," while Lily Collins will play a more traditional Snow White with Julia Roberts as Evil Queen and Armie Hammer as the dashing Prince.
For more on Disney's Snow White retelling, including who is in talk to direct, click over to The Hollywood Reporter.
