Hansel & Gretel 2: Witch Hunters gets director

Gary Sanchez Productions has the Will Ferrell-Mark Wahlberg-starrer Daddy’s Home opening Christmas Day for Paramount, and Flynn is readying Rampage at New Line with his San Andreas cohorts Dwayne Johnson and director Brad Peyton. Instead, Wirkola is in the midst of directing Noomi Rapace, Willem Dafoe, and Glenn Close in the overpopulation sci-fi thriller, What Happened to Monday.

Last year, word came out that Wednesday be seeing a Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters 2 hitting theaters sometime in 2016, but a couple months later, the project took a huge blow when filmmaker Tommy Wirkola walked away from the sequel. I want to do something a little bit different now and not just do sequels.

According to Deadline, both Gemma Arterton and Jeremy Renner are in line to reprise their role as the titular bounty hunters for Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters 2 – though when the sequel will find time to step in front of the cameras is another question entirely. Ashley Brucks, Gabby Canton, and Elizabeth Raposo are overseeing the project for Paramount.

Jeremy Renner and Gemma Artenton are Hansel and Gretel. The studios could re-cast Hansel and Gretel but that would instantly lose some of the steam and appeal gained from the first film. For those unfamiliar with Aveillan’s history directing – that would include most of us as well! Not only that, but the studio is apparently looking for a new writer to transform the script left behind by Wirkola in order to infuse some added excitement into the franchise. As of right now, what is known is that Hansel and Gretel will be back to once more battle against a threat even larger than they have already fought.

The first film didn’t do well with critics who condemned the script and excessive violence, but movie goers seemed to disagree as it brought in $226 million worldwide.