Kristen Stewart no more: What on earth is going on with ‘The Huntsman: Winter’s War’ trailer?

When the Brothers Grimm and Disney classic Snow White got an “adult” makeover with Kristen Stewart in the starring role of Snow White and the Huntsman, it seemed to be heading towards a full-blown franchise. I mean, Twilight did extremely well among tweens, so this film – amped up with dramatic costumes, a sword-wielding Snow White, and a particularly prominent huntsman – had all the ingredients for a successful series. It also ended on a cliffhanger.

So what on earth is up with The Huntsman: Winter’s War trailer? Quite frankly it has left me plenty confused, albeit very curious. So here are five important questions that need answering:

What happened to the Snow White and the Huntsman sequel?

That’s at least something we’d expect to see, following a cliffhanger ending. I shan’t reveal any spoilers if you haven’t watched the first film, but it was understood that Snow White was on a path to overthrow or vanquish the evilest of evil queens, Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron). Now instead of expanding the story and letting us know what happens next, the producers are instead teasing us with a spin-off from the first film that is said to contain both a prequel and sequel to the first movie.

Is The Huntsman banking in on Frozen‘s popularity?

Disney’s Frozen proved that ice and snow is very popular among both young and matured audiences. Elsa – the identity crisis-laden “snow queen” – became an overnight award-winning icon. The Huntsman has now introduced a new character Freya the Ice Queen, portrayed by Emily Blunt who dons white hair and is draped in blue and silver hues that are suspiciously similar to that of Elsa. Also, Freya’s background apparently puts her far away from her kingdom from which she fled, spending decades of her life in a remote snowy palace before the film takes place. She’s also Queen Ravenna’s sister, and they seem to be somewhat at war.

This diversion from the “original” Snow White plot seems to be heading in a chaotic direction.

With a mix of new characters and the Elsa carbon copy, The Huntsman seems to be heading the route of Once Upon a Time, a television series that started off with a live-action dark backstory of Disney classics, and has now spun into a tangled mess where they simply try to fit in every other Disney character. Once Upon a Time, when it started off, also reimagined Snow White‘s scenario, only that the story was tied to every Disney classic ever produced. They too, banked in on Frozen‘s success.

Jessica Chastain outshines Kristen Stewart.

If Stewart ever makes a surprise return as Snow White in this film, I’m afraid the sexy, gutsy Jessica Chastain who plays Sara the warrior (and sort of reminds me of Princess Merida from Brave with her archery skills) has already outdone the female lead of the first movie. A teaser shot of Chastain and Chris Hemsworth in a steamy thermal pool definitely goes to show that the two have a lot more on-screen chemistry compared to that of Hemsworth and Stewart. 

Why is Charlize Theron getting more and more scary?

There’s a fine line between a dark action-adventure and pure horror with The Huntsman. Charlize Theron probably makes the most fashionable, stylish queen who can pull off one heck of a haute couture wardrobe, but she’s also just really, really terrifying. As if the first film didn’t already peg her as a power-hungry, beauty-hungry ruler who can transform into a flock of crows; this one has her spewing black goo out of her very angry mouth as she sends shards of gold flying towards the camera.

It’s all so confusing, terrifying and intriguing, and somehow I can’t wait to watch it. Check out the trailer below.

The Huntsman: Winter’s War will be released in April 2016.