Paramount has settled on a release date for their potential franchise builder Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, starring up-and-comers Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton. Witches will be hunted on March 2, 2012 (the coveted 300 slot). MGM will co-finance the film, part of its plan to re-finance its own property (the Bond franchise) to other studios while dipping its other projects, in order to increase capital as quick as possible. A solid deal fell through with Paramount (who’s oddly producing this film?) but MGM is still in talks with Sony.
The plot: 15 years after they escaped the clutches of the gingerbread house, Hansel and Gretel take down those same witches for a living. Famke Janssen will play the leader of the witches. [Deadline]
The speed of this project may well depend on the success of the upcoming re-imagining of Red Riding Hood, starring Amanda Seyfried.
Do you like Hansel and Gretel story? Excited to see these actors take it on?