[UPDATE] Kristen Stewart Dropped from 'Snow White and the Huntsman' Sequel

[UPDATE]: Reps for Universal have said that while they are pursuing a spinoff for the Huntsman rather than a true sequel, Kristen Stewart's Snow White character might still be part of the movie. Looks like she hasn't been dropped outright, but the movie will still shift focus away from her.

Original article follows:

Things are simply not looking good for Kristen Stewart lately.

In the wake of the cheating scandal that had her apologizing for an affair with married "Snow White and the Huntsman" director Rupert Sanders, it now appears that Universal has dropped Stewart from the planned "Snow White" sequel and is changing course on the franchise.

Originally, the plan was to do the first movie, follow it up with a sequel, and then do a spinoff movie that centered on Chris Hemsworth's Huntsman character. There was language about the sequel in Stewart's contract from the beginning, as Universal was counting on a new franchise from the fantasy film.

Now it seems that the true sequel has been shelved and that Universal is jumping straight to the Huntsman spinoff instead, without Kristen Stewart's involvement at all. That's according to THR, who reports that Universal is changing course on the franchise.

The question is, why the change? Does it have to do with Stewart's affair with Sanders? It's possible that Universal is nervous about Stewart losing her strong fan base after the scandal, but as for Sanders, he had no language in his contract about the sequel, so a new director could have been brought in. Unless Universal wants to keep Sanders on, even at the expense of Stewart...

Finances might be the real issue, as "SWatH" cost about $170 million to make, and earned about $390 million worldwide. That's enough to call it a modest success, but it might not be enough for Universal to pay Stewart's hefty price again when they can spin the movie off for much less money.

Granted, finances didn't seem to be a concern for Universal before, but perhaps worries about Stewart and Sanders' scandal was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Or, could it be that Stewart backed out of the movie herself, considering the turmoil in her personal life? Another big-budget, high-publicity movie might be tough to handle.

How about it? Would you have seen the "Snow White and the Huntsman" sequel? If so, would your mind change if Kristen Stewart wasn't in it?