Universal is praying that they have a real potential blockbuster on their hands with Snow White and the Huntsman, and while we're still over a month away from seeing if their dreams come true, the studio has already hired the writer that everyone goes to when dealing with blockbusters.
According to Deadline, David Koepp is now in negotiations with Universal to write the script for the untitled follow-up to the upcoming fairy tale adaptation. The reason why the studio is so eager to bring a writer on-board this early is because they want to fast track the sequel and keep director Rupert Sanders locked in and ready to make the next installment immediately as his next project. This is not the first time that Koepp has been hired to jump into franchise late in the game, as he previously wrote scripts for Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Ron Howard's Angels & Demons. In a funny bit of circumstance, this will also be Koepp's third time writing a character for star Kristen Stewart, who plays the titular beauty in the upcoming epic. The screenwriter wrote the scripts for both Panic Room and Zathura, two of Stewart's most popular early roles that helped launch her career. The sequel will presumably also feature Charlize Theron returning as the evil Queen Ravenna and Chris Hemsworth as the brave huntsman.
Do you think it's too early for Universal to be developing a Snow White and the Huntsman sequel? It does show a lot of confidence on the part of the studio, so hopefully it will all pay off come June 1st when the first movie is released.
