'Frozen 2' Gets Release Date

The Storm Inside by nna

The film finally has a confirmed release date, as announced by actors Josh Gad (who plays the adorable sentient snowman Olaf), Kristen Bell ( who plays Anna, along with the official Disney Animation account, and was the official protagonist of the first movie) and Idina Menzel (the ice-magic-wielding Elsa), each in their unique way, via Twitter.

That date is...

November 27th 2019. 

(And people are already putting it on their calendars.)

There are no details of the plot as yet, only that it's a sequel to the animated hit.

The only casting confirmed on IMDB are Kristen Bell, who plays Anna, and Idina Menzel, who plays Elsa, but since jJosh Gad got to announce it too, we're going to assume he's on board as well.

It is presumed to be a musical, at this stage, especially in the current Hollywood push for more, now that back in vogue, but there's no confirmation on that either.

Interestingly, the response has been more mixed than even we expected to see, but the enthusiasm of fans appears to be outweighing the  'don't care's and 'please no's, so to the theater it goes!

So, not a lot of real fairy tale news in this announcement - only really the heads up that people will, once again, be enthusiastic about 'riffing' on the possibilities of a second story for a Snow Queen.

(We have to wonder if there will be some references to Olaf dealing with climate change...)

New 'Labyrinth' Movie Officially in the Works [without The Goblin King we know & love]

Brian Froud - concept for Labyrinth

Yes - you read it correctly. There is a new Labyrinth movie in the works  - and it's a sequel, that is, a 'continuation' of the first movie.

Not a remake.

We repeat: This is NOT a remake!

(Phew!)

We can't quite imagine how it's going to work quite as much wonder without our favorite Goblin King (the late, great David Bowie), but we're willing to wait and hope.

Don't Breathe director, Fede Alvarez will co-write the script and be directing. Best of all, Lisa Henson will be producing. (Yay!)

Insiders stress that the new project is not a remake nor a reboot but rather a continuation of the story set in the rich Henson universe. The goblin king will not be represented in the film. (THR)

Did you read that last line properly? The goblin king will not be represented in the film. So... how this will be a sequel, exactly, is yet to be discovered. Lisa Henson being on board means we should be spending a good chunk of time in the Labyrinth - or the Goblin City - at least. (We hope.)

While we can imagine a myriad of interesting stories with this teensy bit of information, none of the ideas come close to matching to The Goblin King in our minds, but what we really want to know is: will Toby Froud be involved again? (Technically, with the Goblin King's passing - doesn't Toby become the Goblin King?) He's become a masterful artist, sculptor and puppeteer in his own right and his touch would be perfect for the film. Not to mention he and his wife Sarah (we know!) have a little Toby, er, #cabbageprince, of their own, though he's older now than Toby was when they made Labyrinth. Ah, possibilities!

Screenwriter, Nicole Perlman, who is not involved in the sequel, but instead wrote some story ideas between 2014 (when the idea for a second movie became a possibility) and January 2016 took to Twitter to clear up some rumors about this in January of LAST year, so this has been in the works for quite some time.

Oh - and a bit of trivia that, considering the director, might be pertinent background for the upcoming movie, did you know that...

The original film was scripted by Monty Python's Terry Jones. Its story was inspired by the Maurice Sendak children's book Outside Over There, which was itself inspired by the real-life kidnapping of aviator Charles Lindbergh's infant son. (Telegraph)

There is currently no release timeline for the movie but filming is scheduled to commence in Fall 2017.

So - basically: 

Is a Labyrinth sequel needed?

No.

Will we watch it?

Yes.

And we will be here as it unfolds...

should you need us.

'Disenchanted' (Disney's Official 'Enchanted' Sequel) Gathers Speed with New Director

Enchanted 2 has been on the "going to do this someday" slate for Disney for quite some time, but now the project is heating up and Disney reportedly has plans to start shooting in Summer 2017. If you count the months, you'll realize that really isn't very long to do the final polish on the script and get all the pre-production complete and camera ready.
From THR:

Adam Shankman, the helmer behind the musical Hairspray, is in negotiations to directDisenchanted, the follow-up to Disney’s musically inclined 2007 fantasy Enchanted that starred Amy Adams. 

Adams is expected to return for the sequel. 

Sources say Disenchanted is set 10 years after the first movie, with Giselle finding herself questioning her happily-ever-after life and accidentally triggering events that make everyone's lives turn upside down in both the real world and in the animated kingdom of Andalasia. 

Shankman's resume seems ideal for a sequel along the same lines as the original - a comedic musical fantasy. He not only did Hairspray, but also Rock of Ages, episodes of Glee and the romance films A Walk to Remember, The Wedding Planner and the family films Bedtime Stories and The Pacifier.

There's a good chance this movie will be filling one of those slots of "Untitled Live Action Fairy Tale."

Fitting that it will be around the time of the 10th anniversary... 10 years after the first movie, just when the story is to be set.

"Maleficent 2" Is Happening

A Maleficent re-design by Lee Kent

Yup. Not a typo. Disney have confirmed it and Linda Woolverton (who wrote Maleficent and is best known for Beauty & the Beast) is busy writing it. Other crew have already jumped on board too. Not Ms. Jolie though. She seems to be of the opinion they're done with the story, which I'm glad to hear, but they're forging ahead anyway.

-sigh-

Random thought: it would be REALLY INTERESTING if they decided to tackle the other, rarely told half of Sleeping Beauty with the ogre mother-in-law etc, wouldn't it? #notgoingtohappen

If you're truly interested in the Maleficent sequel movie news, you can read a bunch more about it HERE, which has links in the article for you to follow as well.

Emily Blunt To Become (Villainous) "Snow Queen"?

Do you remember all the talks about Snow White and the Huntsman getting a sequel, but that there would be no Snow White.. etc etc? Well there have been other developments in the past couple of days, one in particular I didn't expect at all.

Emily Blunt, the amazing actress who played The Baker's Wife in Into The Woods, is looking to get involved in another fairy tale franchise (or two - more on that later*) and is officially "in talks" (negotiating a possible contract) to play the villain in the new movie The Huntsman (previously known as Snow White and the Huntsman 2). It's a character we already know and have seen a few different version of recently, both nice and not-so-nice. I have a feeling Ms. Blunt would have no trouble in making us shiver.

The sequel sends the Huntsman on a quest to find the magic mirror (which has been stolen), forcing him to face not only his past but the evil Snow Queen who’s set on avenging her sister Ravenna’s death. 

The Snow Queen is the role that Blunt is in talks to take, and Charlize Theron IS expected to return as Ravenna. Darabont actually wrote the current draft of the screenplay, but whether or not that will now go through any changes remains to be seen. (source)

 So the Snow White story will be dovetailing into a Snow Queen story, except that this queen isn't (and isn't related to) Snow White herself. And it now looks like this WILL be a sequel, not a prequel as it's been called for the past year+.

It's not the first time I've thought one could make a connection between the two stories but normally it would involve the Snow White character fairly centrally. This new movie/sequel looks to be working on a new fairy tale altogether. They're just setting in a world we already associate with Snow White. Unless there is some very interesting writing, there is the high probability that "a strong male protagonist will beat the evil woman", to much predictable criticism, but I hold out hope that people have their Bechdel tests handy to check the script against and maybe (maybe!) even consider looking at Andersen's original Snow Queen to consider balancing out the negative feminine energy with one or more of those other beloved characters (Little Robber Girl please!). The fact that Blunt is looking at the role at all, gives me optimism. She seems very particular in choosing smart roles that will reflect well on her and women in general.

Don't worry, my skepticism about this film-to-be is alive and well (why do I feel like we should be expecting a "Snow Trilogy"?), but after being impressed, despite myself, with what Kitsis and Horowitz (and the amazing Elizabeth Mitchell) did with the character of the OUAT's Snow Queen last year (right in the middle of possibly the worst storyline/arc/set-up to date), anything seems possible!  (We'll have to write about OUAT and Frozen another time...)

As an added hurdle for the film, The Huntsman (no Snow White in this film's title), has just lost their director due to creative differences but the film is still going full steam ahead in pre-production, aiming to hit the release date scheduled (April 22, 2016). A new director will apparently be announced next week.

I look forward to seeing their new director/direction and if Ms. Blunt will be part of it.

* Emily Blunt has also expressed interest in being involved in Frozen 2 - the Disney animated sequel movie currently in development.

"Snow White and the Huntsman 2" Gearing Up, Hunting for Different Director

There has been interest in Snow White and the Huntsman 2 ever since the first movie. (You can see a previous post HERE.) There's been at least one script, Kristen Stewart is definitely attached and apparently Chris Helmsworth is also contractually obligated to return to reprise his role as the Huntsman as well (which will help the movie enormously).

The directors rumored to being considered are an interesting bunch, (original director Rupert Sanders is not among them) suggesting that they're working on making this it's own - hopefully decent - movie, rather than (just) a money-spinner sequel.

From Deadline this past week:

 Universal is getting down to finding a helmer for Snow White And The Huntsman 2. I’m hearing the shortlist consists of Frank Darabont,Gavin O’Connor and Andy Muschietti. 

...This is an intriguing group of filmmakers. Darabont, after helming The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, hatched The Walking Dead and helped forge it into cable TV’s top-rated drama before getting fired. He hasn’t helmed a feature since 2007′sThe Mist. Then there is O’Connor, who directed the cult favorite film Warrior as well as Miracle and stepped in and saved the Natalie Portman starrer Jane Got A Gun. Then there is Muschietti, the Mama helmer who was tapped by Universal to reboot its The Mummy franchise, before he fell out of that project. 

I'll admit I'm intrigued by the idea of Frank Darabont helming and what he could bring to the film.

Universal are also pushing for a 2016 release date so we're talking about SWATH2 being on the fast track to see it happen by then (what the reality turns out to be, we shall see).

A sequel has the strong potential to be an interesting exploration of the Snow White character - possibly - but chances are we're in for more faux-medieval intrigue, politics and war rather than Enchanted Forest explorations. Still, with Maleficent doing so well and the forest and faerie being an enormous part of that movie, this may also be the reason SWATH2 has been put on the fast track. ie. want more enchanted forests? We can do that! Also, the similarities between Maleficent and Snow White and the Huntsman are most definitely present and in a way which shouldn't hurt a  SWATH sequel at this point, unless, perhaps, you look at them so specifically, like this:

Ah the power of editing! You might be surprised at just how many films you could "parallel" this way. Still, they're both "sleeper" stories and DO have many things in common, as far as fairy tales go (Heidi of SurLaLune can tell you all about it!), and it doesn't hurt that the two "queens" here have been posed in similar ways either (ah Hollywood, we love you, but..!)

It could go so many ways. While I can easily imagine a premise and plot worthy of fairy tale research and exploration, unless Disney's obvious push in that direction is an influencing factor, I can't see that happening (unfortunately. It could really be quite wonderful...)

Hollywood seems a little confused at present: fairy tales = BIG! as are super heroes. Fantasy still dominates the box office when it appears - whether that be a family film or adult, so the property of Snow White and the Huntsman has a lot of options but it doesn't seem great at committing to one thing, (perhaps for fear of alienating potential audiences). I'd be very surprised, though, if they strayed completely away from fairy tale and fantasy and went into the Game Of Thrones/Reign genre (or whatever they're calling that style). That just doesn't seem like good business sense in the current climate. I guess we shall see... #moregirlsinmorearmor?

What are you looking forward to?

Me - I'd love to see more of this guy:

Frozen II: It's Happening (Probably. Maybe. They're Thinking About It.)

Frozen in the Style of Mucha by Yar'Tzana-Serenade

Yes, it's true! There are rumors... but that's still as concrete as it is for now.

It's becoming more and more likely that, thanks to the film's monumental success, Disney will return to Arendelle for further 'Frozen' tales.Some fans might be a tad perturbed at the thought of a sequel, because the original is so adored, but the film's directors, Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck, have admitted that the folks over at Disney are just as concerned. (Source)

Talk about a Frozen sequel, addressing the "discourse" of the fans is definitely happening amongst all the official-Frozen people but it's still early days of Frozen's success, historically speaking and it's still a "new movie". Though Frozen has just become the most successful animated film of all time (yep - broke the billion barrier!) it doesn't guarantee we'll be seeing sequels. It's pretty clear that any consideration of a sequel will want to avoid the (generally) lower quality writing and/or animation of the direct-to-dvd crowd. If they do take a stab at this, it's likely it will be big screen all the way.

Here's as much official word about it as was discussed in a recent interview (posted 4/4/14) the directors had with Den of Geek:

Fan made poster for Broadway Musical

We're past the age of straight to DVD sequels now, that much is thankfully clear. And obviously there's been talk about sequels to this, a musical... but how closely do you stay now as guardians of it? How do you stop The Jungle Book 2 happening to it? How do you protect these characters, or do you have to accept that it's someone else's now? 

Chris: ...I think with John Lasseter being there, he's such a guardian of the movies now... especially of Frozen, he really was such a big part of it. And the characters too. I think we'll be right there, but he's the 800 pound gorilla who says no, our characters don't do this. They don't go there. 

Jennifer: Right now, I certainly feel very protective of the characters, and it'd be very hard to see that happen. Having said that, the fans have seen different things in the film, some of which wasn't our intention, but they're responding to it, and there's a discourse going on. 

There really is. 

Jennifer: It's flattering. They're talking about our film at a deeper level than just it was good, it was bad. And that in itself means a lot. You don't want to take that away from fans. There is that balance of wanting to stay involved and protecting the characters, certainly going forward, but also liking the world that each person is making.

Basically, "yep we're thinking about it but don't get too excited, we're still feeling precious about this relatively new film." (You can read the whole interview HERE.)

Earlier this year Disney's CEO, Bob Iger, hinted that a follow-up to the animated behemoth is already in the pipeline as he told a conference call with investors that the film "has real franchise potential." (Source)

So, yes. They're definitely thinking about it. But the real question is: why am I blogging about it on a fairy tale news blog? Well Frozen has officially forever altered the way The Snow Queen will be considered; The Snow Queen as a character, the manifestation of snow, ice and Winter powers and also of the fairy tale. At least it retains the idea of strong women which is so prevalent in Hans Christian Andersen's story, though I'd love to see that connection strengthened a little more.

The Four Seasons - Tapestry artwork by Brittney Lee- Character artwork by Bill Schwab

It's a complete dream on my part, but now that the Disney-ness has been dealt with, with regard to this fairy tale rewrite, and certain cliches have been, at least, bent, if not broken in Frozen, I can see it paving the way to tap more of the original Snow Queen story and themes in a sequel, especially the idea of seasons and maturation, which is one of the reasons I really love the depiction of the Disney characters as shown in the image at the head of the post - there's more of an echo of the fairy tale than the artist probably realizes. The development art, immediately above by Disney artist Brittney Lee, shows the concept of applying the seasons to the story, themes and characters isn't foreign to them either, so you never know...

Whatever the case, Frozen and all associations with The Snow Queen (whether we like them or not) are not going away any time soon. Fan art, stories and theories are only continuing to grow and take some interesting - and fairy tale friendly directions (more about that soon, hopefully). Speculations are already growing about the film's transition/morph into a Broadway production, despite the fact that Disney has made it clear they are taking it slowly and carefully on that project and that we are unlikely to see anything for a few years yet.

So what do you think? Excited about a possible sequel? What do you think are the chances of fairy tale elements involved if there is? (And what if they're NOT from Snow Queen?)

'Descendants' Movie Mirrors 'Ever After High' (We Hope...)

It would appear that the profitable 'Ever After High pie' has Disney drooling for a piece of their own.

Enter the 'Original Disney Movie, Descendants'. The show's development has certainly been boosted by the high anticipation surrounding the live action Maleficent as well. Clearly, the trend of villain stories and anti-heroes isn't going away any time soon for Disney. While it's been in development for a few months already (it was announced in December, I believe), we now have a release window and format: it's heading straight to Disney Channel, in live action form, and is set to air sometime during 2015.

The Descendants is going to be Disney's original movie that will feature the now teenage children of the heroes and (more specifically the) villains. 

Beast and Belle (of Beauty and The Beast) rule over an "idyllic kingdom" with a son of their own, who's waiting to take over the throne, according to Entertainment Weekly. In his first proclamation, the young prince looks to give some redemption to his not-so-well-behaved classmates Carlos (son of 101 Dalmatians' Cruella De Vil), Mal, (child of Sleeping Beauty's Maleficent), Evvie (daughter of Snow White's the Evil Queen) and Jay (son of Aladdin's Jafar).They all attend the kingdom's prep school with offspring of other Disney favorites like The Fairy Godmother (from Cinderella), Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel and Mulan.  

The children of Disney's villains are about to face a dilemma of whether to take the evil steps laid out by their parents or to follow the goodness in their hearts.

The famous High School Musical director will be directing Disney Movie Descendants with the script written by Josann McGibbon and Sara Parriott (The Starter Wife, Runaway Bride). Mark Hofeling, another High School Musical veteran will be in charge of the production design for the Disney movie "Descendants."

Disney Channel, despite some decent animation series in their offerings, doesn't have as stellar a track record with it's live action shows, other than High School Musical. Despite the credits of those involved being noteworthy, I still have my doubts about this. My guess is, if the movie does well, it may have the option to branch into a series.

The movie's redeeming factor - and the one thing that will set it apart - is that it will be focusing on the Disney VILLAINS' offspring, rather than all the possible offspring. It has good potential using this emphasis, but I'm very leery of the live action approach in comparison to the other Disney live action shows. Kitsch is just too easy a trap to fall into with whatever formula it is they use, but we'll see. Hopefully we'll be pleasantly surprised.

But why, do you ask, am I hoping that Descendants will mirror Ever After High? (At least, in some respects.)

Far from first impressions, Ever After High is, to coin a phrase from critics of The Lego Movie*, "far better than it has any right to be". Seriously. The designs are crazy-girly, the animation has a lot of flash bopping about but the characters, their development, the writing and the story lines are ridiculously good. Even the designs have far more to them than first looks imply. It's yet another one of those things I've been dismissing, only bothering to give it another look because respected fairy tale author, Shannon Hale's name remains attached.

I'm really glad I did.

Here's the premise (from Wikipedia), in case you have no idea what I'm talking about:

The Ever After High storyline is based on the lives of the teen children of famous fairytale characters who are destined to follow in their parents’ footsteps in order keep their stories alive through the generations. If they do not, these stories will cease to exist and the characters will disappear. 

The main characters are Raven Queen (daughter of the Evil Queen), who is unhappy with her destiny, and Apple White (daughter of Snow White), who is destined to "live happily ever after." Raven would prefer to create a new destiny for herself, while Apple White believes that if Raven changes her own story. this will put her own "happily ever after" in jeopardy. The school gets divided into "Royals and Rebels". The Royals are supporters of Apple who also know they will have a "happily ever after" and are content (even enthusiastic) with their fates. The Rebels are supporters of Raven who prefer the idea of creating their own destinies. Many disagreements and fights result between the groups.

When I finally took the time to have a proper look, I was truly surprised that something so 'fluffy looking' had so much real fairy tale soul. In fact, I would bet that there are a LOT of fairy tale references in the dialog, plots and designs that are completely missed by those not up on their slightly-more-obscure fairy tales reading. And I LOVE that! For the EAH fandom (which is growing fast) who are really getting into the characters (and they really are!) there's always more to mine and if you take time to peruse the EAH fandom Tumblrs you see the discussions border on 'Buffyverse depth' at times (if you're not Buffy-savvy, that means it's a good thing).

The fandom are getting into the ideas so much they're looking up the 'original' tales for themselves so they can better speculate motivations, among other things, and discovering other lesser known tales they'd like to see explored as well. Here's an example in 'Ever After High Confessions' format:

I want a child of the princess and the pea, and I want them to either have insomnia or be a sleep walker. I feel like it’d work with the princess and the peas story line.You could even make that character constantly worried that because of his/her insomnia or sleep walking, they won’t be able to follow their parents story right. It’d be a super intense storyline. I’d LOVE IT! (Source)

HERE's my original post about the toy line and series before it premiered. You may notice the bit about "is it 'scarier' than Monster High?', meaning, are little girls everywhere in for another disturbing dose of pop-sexism? Surprisingly, the answer is 'no, they're not'. In fact, those 'out there' concerns, commented on by Tumblr people when they heard the announcement of the dolls (eg, "...this is giving me some serious NO REALLY THIS IS F***ING DISTURBING feelings regarding fate and free will and the fact that some of these kids are expected to have no choice beyond ultimately dying in unbelievably gruesome ways..." ), are specifically being addressed - smartly! - by the writing. And all this effort is primarily for A TOY LINE.

Clearly, someone understands just how influential dolls can be and has chosen to not only give them what they think they want (sparkle, girly, glitter, pink, SHOES!), but dose it liberally with real issues and embed it with some meaty tale explorations.

Thank you Ms. Hale!!

I discovered this by realizing I hadn't really given the series the time of day and that Ms. Hale's work deserved better attention than that so set up the Ever After High Valentine's Day special to record as a reminder. Cleaning out the DVR last week I let the special run while I was doing other things "just in case there was anything worth noticing, fairy-tale-wise". Boy was there ever! I went back to watch the whole thing without distractions and, although I couldn't stop wincing at the over-the-top sparkly-curlicue designs (and the thinness - although they are not as thin as the Monster High dolls - and the crazy high shoes) I was amazed at how layered it was.

How they/Ms. Hale, struck this balance, I have no idea. It feels as ridiculous on the surface as the 'pinkest' shows out there (I know, you know what I mean) and yet... we have a truly girl-empowering show (and - surprise - boys too!) that sneaks in really solid fairy tale motifs, themes, plot lines and archetypes with many a modern twist. While 'choose your own destiny' seems like a simple enough premise at first, the Ever After High treatment of the (very large) topic has more gravitas than much of what I've seen come out of Once Upon A Time on the same theme.

Take, for instance, the True Hearts Day special, in which Valentine's Day celebrations have been banned because of the danger that the kids might consider people other than their 'destined partners' as potential mates. This all comes across as 'our fun party has been sabotaged by the meanie school principal' but you look closer and realize a key antagonizer in this episode is Odile, the 'false', black swan from Swan Lake and you start to get an idea of the layering.

At the end:

-- SPOILER ALERT!!!!--

 (highlight the space below to read the text)

The kids are able to give their (physical) valentine tree hearts to the person of their choice and while it's completely expected that Cinderella's daughter (Ashlynn), who is in love with a 'rebel' (the Huntsman) instead of her destined Prince Charming, finally gets the courage to stand up to her friends and choose him no matter what their response will be, the surprise is that Apple White (Snow White's daughter, who has a serious problem with the Evil Queen wanting her own destiny instead of ending up Evil and thus guaranteeing Apple's preferred happy ending) gives HER valentine heart to her friend, Cinderella, saying "although I don't always agree with your choices, it doesn't mean you're not still my friend."
Gasp! I did not see that coming. Nicely done, Ms. Hale!

--END OF SPOILERS--

(Once again), I feel embarrassed by my initial dismissal of the show but even if it's too sparkly for your taste to sit through, you can be comforted in knowing that any girls (and boys) watching, will be getting good content. REALLY good content. And that the main things the girls buying these dolls are thinking about are not so much fashion and make-up but the issues of free will, destiny, responsibility and choice.

If you'd like to read more, you can currently get ebook samplings of the writing for free for the Kindle HERE by downloading various character stories (one link hooks you up to the others. There are six different character stories available for free download. To catch up you can watch the webisodes (which have already aired on TV) HERE (note: as girly as it looks, you may want to pay close attention to the various designs used. There's been a lot of research and thought about story going into all that as well), and, as of this week, you can also read the first two chapters of the second Ever After High novel, The Unfairest of Them All, for free on your Kindle HERE (the whole novel will be released on March 23rd).

Whether or not Descendants has any of the same type of substance as Ever After High has proven to have, remains to be seen, but we are hopeful... After all, once you start taking a closer look, fairy tales are rarely as dismissible as people are led to believe.

Additional source: HERE

*If you haven't yet seen The Lego Movie - see it. It has mythic aspects to it and is a wonderful, affirming ride to the land of make-believe.

Movie Pre-Production Update: Through the Looking Glass (aka Alice in Wonderland 2)

Announced yesterday afternoon, Through the Looking Glass has an "undisclosed villain" character, needing some star power to pull it off. As of yesterday it looks like it may possibly be played by Sacha Baron Cohen, who is officially "in talks" for the role. Cohen has worked with Director, James Bobin, before so it's not a complete surprise.

From Geeks of Doom:

Sacha Baron Cohen

Borat and Les Miserables star Sacha Baron Cohen has entered into talks forThrough the Looking Glass, a sequel to Disney’s megahit live-action/computer animated hybrid Alice in Wonderland. 

Baron Cohen would join returning stars Mia Wasikowska and Johnny Deppon the cast. Directing the sequel is The Muppets and Muppets Most Wantedhelmer James Bobin, who steps in for Alice director Tim Burton.
Who Baron Cohen is playing or what story the sequel will tell is not known specifically, as all details are being kept hush hush at the moment. What is known is that the actor would be playing the villain.

Is anyone looking forward to this? It's bizarre, but it seems to me that despite Johnny Depp and Mia Wasikowska signing back on, once Tim Burton left the project people haven't been too excited about it. The weirdest thing about it, is that it still has a chance to be a good film, although May 2016 (the scheduled release time) isn't quite as far away as it sounds. If Alice 2 is going to have anything like the amount of effects and post-production work (or more) that Alice did, they'd better get a shuffle on!

PS Aren't the chess pieces stunning? Not to mention the table..!!!

Here's some info on the artist and I recommend clicking the link HERE (and also HERE to see the table) to look at many more pieces as well as a very unique and mechanical display table.:

The famous sequel of the not less famous “Alice in Wonderland” called “Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There” by Lewis Carroll has a very detailed description of a chess game with unique pieces which are rather to be called separate characters. One (FTNH edit: UNNAMED!) Ukrainian ivorycutting master was inspired to create a special table and a set of chess pieces for this particular game by his daughter’s interest to Carroll’s tales.

Update (and sorry for the late post - I had to do a lot of hunting to find this info):

I found artist names! As far as I can figure out, the (insanely detailed) carved table top with Alice falling down is by Vladimir Rusinov while the rest of the Through the Looking Glass chess table, including the pieces, was by Alexander Konyaev. [See HERE for the full (if somewhat confusing) artist credits but note that the above link on Konyaev's name seems to credit him with the complete work - I think it may have been his personal project, for which Rusinov created the table top.]

Snow White Drifts To the Dark Side in SWATH Sequel?

 Ah yes, Snow White the Trilogy. (Or is it SWATH the Franchise?) Either way, we've known from the very early on that Universal was eyeing Snow White and the Huntsman as the first (story?) in a three-movie deal and you'll be glad (? - yes there are a few question marks here) to know that the sequel is well underway and a release is planned for sometime in 2015.

So what do we know about SWATH 2?

We know Ravenna, the evil queen, (played by Charlize Theron) died - really died.
The mirror, however, did not. (Does that mean it was/is alive??)
But.
There is magic here so ya never know...
We know that despite the rumors a sequel would concentrate on the Huntsman instead of Snow White, Snow's character is confirmed as being front and center once again. (And it would make a lot of fairy tale sense if the queen became the mirror...)

But what do we REALLY know?

Both Kristen Stewart (Snow White) and Chris Hemsworth (the Huntsman) are confirmed as attached (and reportedly already gearing up for filming). The director is... still unknown (though it's definitely NOT Rupert Sanders*). The various design teams are still a question marks too (please come back Ms. Atwood!).

Fans speculate about SWATH 2

It would appear, however, that David Koepp is (still) the screenwriter (with a new, official IMDB credit and completed script tucked under his arm, just awaiting a director to add, change, approve it) and on May 1st, 2013, Mr. Koepp was reported as talking enthusiastically about the SWATH sequel to Vulture, saying:

"It's like The Empire Strikes Back. I felt like they had a really, really great idea that seemed like a natural extension of the story ... Snow White is queen now, but the mirror is still there. It doesn't bode well for our innocent little queen." Assuming even if she succeeds in vanquishing yet another evil in the second film, the fight is far from over: Koepp is already thinking past the sequel. "There's plenty to go," said Koepp, who has been pulling some of his new characters from Russian fairy tales*. "There's also a great idea for a third movie." Feel the Force, Snow.

Will Snow be whistling while she works to clean up the countrywide mess left by the evil queen? (Yawn.) Will she battle a new antagonist? (??) Or will she be her own worst enemy and become a reflection of the queen her (step)mother was?*** (I vote for this one.)

Fan-made SWATH 2 poster

The hype for the first Snow White and the Huntsman talked a lot about being more faithful to the darkness of the original (aka Grimm's) tale and was summarized very nicely by Empire Magazine (in an article well worth reading if you like the tale and/or movie.) The main push was that this was no pixie-dusted Snow White, that it was edgy and yet stayed true to the original character of Snow, both as described in the Grimm text as well as the more well known version animated by Disney. But with a sequel (and likely a third installment) on the way, will those all-important characteristics of the fairy tale heroine develop in a logical way or are we in for something completely different?

(And don't forget it was pretty clear that the story between Snow White and the Eric the Huntsman wasn't over, so there is plenty of room for romantic speculation as well.)

The only other thing we know for certain is that Ms. Stewart is "very excited" about the sequel or as she puts it: "Oh, it's gonna be f----n' amazing. No, I’m so excited about it, it’s crazy." (To which all at Universal were like "OMG Stop talking already!" so that was all we got.)

* Though The Playlist appears to be voting for Neil Jordan, [The Company of Wolves, Interview With A Vampire and the very beautiful and recent Ondine] which would be really interesting to see. I can't, however, find any whiff of that being a real possibility.

** But wait! Rewind to the Episode V hint - did you just read what I did? "New characters from Russian fairy tales"? -swoon- [If you've been reading the blog for a while you'll know I adore Russian fairy tales. From Baba Yaga to Koschei the Deathless and all the Ivans and Vasilisas in between.] I can actually see how that would fit with the direction the first film took.

*** I wanted to write something about "apples" and "giving in to temptation" but the mixed metaphor thing was getting ridiculous!

Hmm, well, Kristen could be on the road to becoming the next Evil Queen. She could also end up battling the remnants of Charlize’s magic-infused reign. But which is it?! - See more at: http://perezhilton.com/2013-05-03-kristen-stewart-evil-queen-snow-white-and-the-huntsman-sequel-villain#.UblAr-uA0hd

Hmm, well, Kristen could be on the road to becoming the next Evil Queen. She could also end up battling the remnants of Charlize’s magic-infused reign. But which is it?! - See more at: http://perezhilton.com/2013-05-03-kristen-stewart-evil-queen-snow-white-and-the-huntsman-sequel-villain#.UblAr-uA0hd