‘The Huntsman: Winter’s War’ Pits Sisters Charlize Theron And Emily Blunt Against One Another [Video]

Universal has released a new trailer for The Huntsman: Winter’s War, and the look at the prequel to 2012’s Snow White and the Huntsman is as revealing as it is misleading. The new film, which had originally been purported to have been an origin story for the Chris Hemsworth character, seems to focus more on the feud that arises between sisters Ravenna, played by Charlize Theron, and Emily Blunt’s Freya. While Hemsworth is seen briefly in the trailer, the story seems to be far more concerned with the origins of the war that erupts between two sisters.

The Huntsman: Winter’s War Proves That Vanity Will Bring Even The Mightiest To Her Knees

The Huntsman went through a number of changes before it earned its present title and established itself as a prequel to the earlier film. Now that Universal has basically screwed Kristen Stewart out of what might have been her second big film franchise, there seems to be much more to get excited about. In addition to Hemsworth’s reprisal of the Huntsman, the film boasts three high-profile actresses, which can only help to draw fans to the theaters. Will anyone even miss Kristen Stewart?

The trailer for The Huntsman: Winter’s War teases a sibling rivalry that escalates to something far worse, as Freya’s baby is robbed of her. The trailer implies that the baby was lost in a great fire, showing the castle burning and the charred bassinet, before Freya falls and gives into her own grief and hatred.

“To escape the pain of her loss, the good queen built a fortress of ice around her heart. If she could not raise a child, she would raise an army,” warns the trailer.

The cause of this trouble is seen at the beginning of the clip, when the magical mirror warns Ravenna that her beauty will fade as the child grows to become the most beautiful woman in the land. The mirror also warns that the loss of the child will unleash a power in her sister unrivaled by anything the world has ever seen, yet it seems Charlize Theron’s character doesn’t heed this warning.

The Huntsman: Winter’s War Is An Origins Story, Just Not The One We Were Expecting

Even the trailer secures the idea that the Huntsman isn’t really the focus of the film, only making an appearance for a moment towards the end of this new trailer. He has a love interest in Jessica Chastain’s Sara and may end up proving to be the hero who saves the day, but it seems unlikely that Chris Hemsworth will be very significant in this film.

This film belongs to Charlize Theron and Emily Blunt as the sisters who are drawn into battle against one another. Their own feud plunges their kingdoms into a brutal battle, as they attempt to overcome one another. As such, The Huntsman: Winter’s War is really about Freya and how she came to evolve from loving sister and mother into the cold-hearted ice queen last seen in Snow White and the Huntsman.

The trailer also gives us a deeper look at Theron’s character, proving that Ravenna has long been obsessed with her own beauty. The trailer reveals that Snow White was not the first life to have been affected by Ravenna’s vanity. Charlize’s alter ego is so consumed by this need to be the fairest in all of the kingdom that she destroys her niece and, in the process, ends up turning her sister’s heart to ice.

The Huntsman: Winter’s War, starring Charlize Theron, Emily Blunt, and Chris Hemsworth, will premiere on April 22 in theaters.

[Image by Universal Pictures]