Commercials director Bruno Aveillan will make his feature film debut helming Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters 2
Plans for a feature film followup to director ‘s Tommy Wirkola 2013 fairy tale action thriller are moving forward today as Deadline reports that commercials helmer Bruno Aveillan will make his feature film debut helming Paramount Pictures’ Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters 2.
Although Wirkola won’t be returning to the director’s chair on the upcoming sequel, he recently announced that he had completed work on the project’s screenplay and that the biggest production hurdle has been about finding time in star Jeremy Renner’s busy schedule.
“I can only say there’s voodoo involved,” Wirkola recently teased of the sequel in an interview with CraveOnline.
The original Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters also stars Gemma Arterton and Famke Jansen and takes place 15 years after the mythic Hansel and Gretel incident at a witch’s gingerbread house. Arterton, who will also return for the sequel, plays the titular Gretel. She and Renner’s Hansel are now specialized bounty hunters looking to put down the cackling black-hat set.
The first film grossed $55 million domestically and over $170 million internationally.
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters 2 will be produced by Gary Sanchez Productions’ Will Ferrell, Adam McKay and Kevin Messick and Flynn Picture Co.’s Beau Flynn.
Several examples of Aveillan’s previous projects are available online at his Vimeo page. In the player below, you can check out a short commercial he directed for Shangri-La Hotel and Resorts, which takes place in a snowy wood environment not entirely dissimilar from what audiences saw in Wirkola’s original Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters.
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters 2 does not yet have a release date, but check back for updates as they become available.
