by: S. Scott Stanikmas – Senior Staff Writer

I don’t know if the masses were ever really clamoring for another installment in the Snow White and the Hunstman story, but that’s what the movie-going public is getting. And Universal seems to be in a very giving mood today, doling out all sorts of goodies to get the fans excited for the Huntsman-centric film.

First off is the new title. Universal is officially calling this The Huntsman: Winter’s War. It makes sense, with the Queen’s sister being a supernaturally cold creature.

Next up are the character posters. We’ve got four posters covering all of our main actors – Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Emily Blunt and Jessica Chastain:

These are all pretty yawn inducing. Most times character posters tell us little to nothing about the film and these are no different. The studio might be trying to throw us by having two queens and two warriors in corresponding background colors but I’m not buying anything these posters are selling right now.

Last but not least is the official synopsis:

Long before the evil Queen Ravenna (Theron) was thought vanquished by Snow White’s blade, she watched silently as her sister, Freya (Blunt), suffered a heartbreaking betrayal and fled their kingdom. With Freya’s ability to freeze any enemy, the young ice queen has spent decades in a remote wintry palace raising a legion of deadly huntsmen — including Eric (Hemsworth) and warrior Sara (Chastain) — only to find that her prized two defied her one demand: Forever harden your hearts to love.

When Freya learns of her sister’s demise, she summons her remaining soldiers to bring the Magic Mirror home to the only sorceress left who can harness its power. But once she discovers Ravenna can be resurrected from its golden depths, the wicked sisters threaten this enchanted land with twice the darkest force it’s ever seen. Now, their amassing army shall prove undefeatable… unless the banished huntsmen who broke their queen’s cardinal rule can fight their way back to one another.

So this was originally thought to be a prequel, but now it sounds like it’s more of a half prequel / half sequel, taking place before AND after the original film. What’s next, an Ultimate Cut Blu-Ray that splices both films together? I’m all set with that.

Universal has their work cut out for them. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Snow White And The Huntsman (just an overall boring film with so-so perfromances and a drab look to it) so this film already has the deck stacked against it in trying to get me on board.

The Huntsman: Winter’s War, from director Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, is slated to hit theaters April 22, 2016.