There were always going to be three Snow White movies. This year we have both Snow White and the Huntsman as well as Mirror Mirror coming out, but for years Disney has been planning a live-action version of their own. Last year Oscar-nominated screenwriter Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3) was hired to pen the script and Michael Gracey was brought on board to direct. Now the project has found its leading lady, but there has been one major change: it's no longer based on the Snow White fairy tale.
Saoirse Ronan has been brought on to star in Order of the Seven, a project that has been reworked as an original story, according to Variety. While Gracey is still on-board (Arndt has been replaced by Jayson Rothwell and Michael DeBruyn), the story now follows a young Englishwoman named Olivia Sinclair, who looks for the protection of an ancient order of warriors that has lost its way. The reason she needs protection is because an evil empress has begun her rise to power and Olivia needs the help of the fighters to take her down. Much like the original version, the story is still set in 19th century China and the warrior order will be a mixing pot of nationalities. To help foreign sales, Disney is planning on bringing aboard notable actors from China, Russia and Japan to play the order.
This really is the smartest move that Disney could have made. We have no idea how either Mirror Mirror or Snow White and the Huntsman will perform at the box office, and even if both are incredibly successful there is a risk that the market will be saturated by the time this project is ready to hit theaters. It's always great to see originality come out of Hollywood, even if it is because of competing projects.
