Viggo Mortensen Talks Break Down for ‘Snow White and the Huntsman’ (Exclusive)

Viggo Mortensen, who has been in protracted negotiations for the part in Universal’s high-flying Snow White and the Huntsman picture, has fallen out of talks to join the project.

 

The movie is one of several Snow White projects in active development—and, with star Kristen Stewart and other cast members locked, the one furthest out of the gate.

 

Commercials helmer Rupert Sanders is making his directorial debut on the Joe Roth-produced pic, which has Stewart as Snow White and Charlize Theron as the Evil Queen.

 

Negotiations with Mortensen have been contentious since the beginning, with insiders claiming the actor asked for $8 million as well as gross participation. The two sides were so far apart that the dealmaking collapsed at one point, allowing the actor to flirt with playing the villain role in Warner Bros’ new Superman movie. 

 

Talks resumed, but sources now say the deal frayed away overnight. Insiders don’t know if the latest development is a death knell for Mortensen’s involvement or simply a negotiating tactic. But as of now, Universal is moving on. 

 

The project amps up the action quotient from the fairy tale and plays up the relationship between White and the Huntsman. In the new scenario, when she is banished and on the run by the evil queen, the Huntsman takes her under his wing to protect her, and she becomes his protege, learning how to fight and defend herself.