Saoirse Ronan is currently deep into negotiations to star in a new action project for Disney that was once being prepped as a kung fu version of Snow White, according to Variety.
With Snow White and the Huntsman and Mirror Mirror pushing Snow White’s story in theaters this year, plus the television fairytale Once Upon A Time doing the same, yet another Snow White-themed film would have been a bit too much to chew in such a short period of time. What was once in development as a kung fu picture with Snow White themes has been altered to be an action/adventure called Order of the Seven.
If the deal goes through, and odds are favorable it will, Ronan will play a British expatriot named Olivia Sinclair living in Hong Kong during the 19th century. She will require the protection of a group of warriors-turned-outlaws against an evil empress up to no good. While the warriors help her fight the empress, Sinclair will in turn help them return to their former noble pre-outlaw ways.
Michael Chabon penned a former version of the film that was known as Snow and the Seven nearly a decade ago. Over the years numerous directors have been attached to the project including Yuen Woo-ping, Michael Arndt and Francis Lawrence. The most recent version of the story that eliminates the obvious Snow White references was written by Michael DeBruyn and Jayson Rothwell.
Ronan already appeared as an action star in a fairytale film-of-sorts, Hanna, in which she handily fought adults and looked like a smooth killing machine while doing so. On paper she’s a perfect a fit for the role, and will stick out like a sore thumb in Hong Kong with her pasty skin and hair (assuming her character doesn’t wear a dark wig).
Production on Order of the Seven is expected to get underway later this year.
Source: Variety
