In a page torn from the book of nightmares I'd love to have comes news that Sexy Beast star Ian McShane – who took a turn at playing Blackbeard in the recently released Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides – has been cast as a dwarf in Universal's retelling of the fair princess tale, Snow White and the Huntsman. Director Rupert Sanders' twist to the story is that the Huntsman – who will be played by Thor star Chris Hemsworth – befriends and mentors the banished maiden who he was originally ordered to kill by the jealous queen (Charlize Theron). Kristen Stewart will be playing the part of Snow White, a casting choice which seemed to divide people into two camps: no way and hmmm … maybe.
While KStew news has dominated the production, the biggest littlest parts had to yet to be filled for Snow White's story. THR reports that McShane will play Caesar (commence with the Rise of the Planet of the Apes jokes now) – the leader of the seven dwarfs. The little guys allow the princess to hole up in their tiny cottage and basically play maid. After her encounter with a poison apple, they tearfully place her in a glass coffin until the prince revives her with a kiss -- in the original film version anyway, the Brothers Grimm fairy tale puts a slightly different spin on things.
There's no telling how close Universal's movie will be to the original film or the storybook, but one thing is certain – if Ian McShane is the first actor cast as a dwarf, this film stands a chance at actually being pretty terrifying, recalling several of the creepier scenes from the 1937 film. Even if Sanders veers away from the story's gothic elements, McShane as a little person will still be big talent to perform side by side with. No word yet if his dialogue will be anything like Deadwood's Al Swearengen: "Gabriel's trumpet will produce you from the ass of a pig!"
