BREAD CRUMBS LEADING TO . . . THE MOVIES?

One of the more prominent and commonly known fairy tales from the Grimm brothers’ collection, Hansel and Gretel, is getting a big-screen adaptation. Yet again. Several movies have done the same over the past few decades, ranging from word by word screenplays to a poorly received action sequel to the original story. Written and oral retellings have also exploded in the past two hundred years since its first major exposure, leading to more varieties of the story than possible to count. With a subject so overdone, it’s interesting to wonder how the newest will set itself apart.

The most significant change is made evident by the title: “Gretel and Hansel.” This flip suggests that the sister will be the star, as opposed to the male centric perspective found in most narratives. Oz Perkins has recently signed on to direct the project, which is funded by Orion Pictures and Automatik Entertainment. Perkins is an experienced filmmaker that’s found his way into quite a few genres. “Gretel and Hansel” has a script written by Rob Hayes that is supposedly faithful to the dark and cheerfully morbid original. Fred Berger (“La La Land”) and Brian Kavanaugh-Jones (“Sinister”) are set to produce. Cast information hasn’t been released, but it likely will be in the next four months. Filming and production are planned to begin this fall somewhere in Europe.