Jessica Chastain has joined the cast of the Snow White and the Huntsman spin-off The Huntsman. The Oscar-nominated actress will line-up opposite Chris Hemsworth while Cedric Nicolas-Troyan - who was nominated by the Academy for his visual effects on the first movie - will direct.

Jessica ChastainJessica Chastain will play the love interest in The Huntsman

The sequel will expand the universe of the film movie, which starred Hemsworth, Kristen Stewart and Charlize Theron. Primarily, it will focus on Eric (Hemsworth) and Ravenna (Theron) before they met Snow White. Though Theron will return, Stewart is unlikely to sign on. The British actor Nick Frost, who played a dwarf in the first film, is also expected to reprise his role.

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Emily Blunt was recently cast to play the new villain, while Chastain's character will be Hemsworth's love interest.

Frank Darabont, the creator of The Walking Dead, was previously attached to direct the movie before leaving the project though he did write the current draft of the screenplay, adapting earlier drafts by Craig Mazin and Evan Spiliotopoulos. 

The original movie took $369 million on a relatively sizeable budget of $170 million though suffered from negative reviews.

"Stewart's Snow White, meanwhile, pouts her lips, bats her bedroom eyes, and scarcely seems to have more on her mind than who might take her to the senior prom," wrote Scott Foundas of Film Comment magazine.

"Movie, movie on the wall, who's the lamest of them all? In 'Snow White and the Huntsman' that distinction is pretty much up for grabs," said Al Alexander of the Patriot Ledger.

The Huntsman is set to hit theaters on April 22, 2016. 

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