2013's "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters," which starred Gemma Arteton and Jeremy Renner as the titular leads, managed to earn over $220 million worldwide from a $50 million budget and it now appears that a sequel is moving forward. According to Deadline, the studios have just hired a new director to helm the project.
Director Bruno Aveillan is an award-winning commercial director who has done work for brands such as Samsung, Louis Vuitton, and Audi. If the film does get into production, this will be his feature film debut. Aveillan will be taking over for Tommy Wirkola who wrote and directed the first film.
Wirkola was initially set to direct the second film but eventually walked away from the project. He did submit a finished script to Paramount Pictures back in November 2014, according to a statement made to Shock Till You Drop, although some reports indicate that the studios are hiring new writers to polish and re-write the draft script.
What isn't clear is whether the two lead stars are going to return. As pointed out in a report from Collider, it would make little sense for the studios to move forward without the two leads. The studios could re-cast Hansel and Gretel but that would instantly lose some of the steam and appeal gained from the first film.
Both actors have become bigger stars than they were in 2013, with Renner in particular hitting it big with the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Hawkeye and recently being in "Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation."
However, it is also possible that they signed a multiple film contract which would oblige them to come back if the studios asked them to. There is no confirmation if this is the case and Paramount Pictures has made no official casting announcements for the time being.
Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, and Kevin Messick will produce "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters 2" for Gary Sanchez Productions, and Beau Flynn is also producing the film for FlynnPictureCo.
