It was rumored in September to be Noomi Rapace (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), but Variety reports that Gemma Arterton will play Gretel to Jeremy Renner's Hansel in Tommy Wirkola's Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters. The movie takes place 15 years after the original story, with grown-up versions of the children becoming, well, witch hunters (as the title suggests).
Renner was also rumored with Rapace but his representatives sent word that there were "no negotiations as yet" but according to the report, Hansel and Gretel will be shot after Renner completes Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (a.k.a. Mission: Impossible 4) and before Renner starts work on The Avengers. Shooting begins March 7 in Berlin.
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters will serve as Wirkola's U.S. debut after 2009's Dead Snow brought him international attention. Dante Harper wrote the script.
