‘Hansel and Gretel’ Sequel May Have Been Flunked to TV Series

Remember Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters? A dumb idea on paper that seemed appropriately dumb in execution, but made enough money internationally to theoretically drag poor Jeremy Renner into a sequel? Well, ol’ Hawkeye may have been let off the hook, as Paramount is reportedly scrapping its sequel plans in favor of a TV series.

Per Deadline, Paramount is reportedly retooling future Hansel & Gretel stories through Paramount TV and MGM, despite having set Bruno Aveillan to direct a sequel. The 2013 Witch Hunters conjured a meager $55 million in the states, only $5 million above its initial budget, though the cool $170 million in overseas budget had seemingly guaranteed a sequel.

That said, it seems most likely that a Hansel & Gretel TV series would start from scratch, rather than attempt to drag Jeremy Renner or Gemma Arterton into a TV contract to reprise the roles. The original film saw the pair as grown-up renditions of the classic fairy-tale characters, now you guessed it, Witch Hunters. X-Men and Hemlock Grove star Famke Janssen also starred as the main villain.

We’ll see what becomes of Hansel & Gretel, considering the original 2016 release plan for its sequel, but might the series fare better on TV? Watch the original trailer below: