The Walking Dead executive producer Frank Darabont is in talks to direct Universal's The Huntsman, a spinoff of Snow White and the Huntsman, The Hollywood Reporter said.

Chris Hemsworth is returning as the film's titular character, as is Charlize Theron, who played the villain. But Kristen Stewart is not coming back for an encore, as The Hollywood Reporter first reported. The actress found herself at the center of a tabloid maelstrom when compromising photos surfaced of her and Snow White and the Huntsman director Rupert Sanders (she was dating her Twilight co-star Robert Pattinson at the time). The studio emphatically denied at the time that Stewart was exiting the franchise.

Darabont will take the franchise baton from Sanders, whose 2012 film earned an impressive $396.6 million worldwide. Universal cast its net wide when looking for a director, but it eventually came down to Darabont and Gavin O'Connor (Warrior).

Darabont, who directed The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile and The Majestic, hasn't helmed a feature film since 2007's The Mist. He developed and executive produced the hit AMC zombie show The Walking Dead but left the show in 2011.