Despite recent rumors that Joel Edgerton might get the part that both Viggo Mortensen and Hugh Jackman have walked away from, it looks like Thor himself might be the one to play the Huntsman. According to Deadline Chris Hemsworth has emerged as the frontrunner for the male title role in Snow White and the Huntsman, the fairy tale spin in development at Universal.

Kristen Stewart is set to star as the heroine and Charlize Theron as the evil queen, but even though production has been set to start shooting in August and come out December 21 of next year, the male lead has been tough to find. Mortensen was set to star until contract negotiations broke down, and after flirting with the project for a brief period, Jackman backed out several weeks ago as well. Though Hemsworth is a good bit younger than either Jackman or Mortensen and not nearly as established a star, that will probably all change come Friday when Thor-- currently sitting at an astonishing 95% Rotten Tomatoes score-- opens in the United States. The movie works for any number of reasons, but Hemsworth's easy charisma and handling of a complicated character is a huge factor; the potential he showed in his brief role in 2009's Star Trek has developed into real starpower.

Right now he's only a frontrunner for the film, which Rupert Sanders is directing, so there are no guarantees he'll nail the role yet. But so long as commitments to The Avengers don't get in the way, I see no reason they wouldn't want him on board here.