It would seem that 2012 is the year of the Hardcore Fairy Tale Film: the rise of popular TV shows “Grimm” and “Once Upon a Time” are setting the stage for films like “Mirror, Mirror,” “Snow White and the Huntsman” and now “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters.”

“Witch Hunters,” which stars Gemma Arterton and Jeremy Renner as the sibling duo, will show the characters as grown-ups, having survived the witch that wanted to eat them as children and are now intent on killing all witches they come across.

Entertainment Weekly has a full interview with the two at their site (which you can get to by clicking here), but what is also interesting to note is that the site has the first look at Arterton and Renner as Gretel and Hansel, all decked out with their black witch-hunting gear and rifles. You can see the first look in the link provided above.

From the first look, it would seem that this film is falling in line with films like “Van Helsing” or “The Brothers Grimm.” Of course, we can’t tell the quality of the storytelling just from the pictures, but as far as pure aesthetics go, it would appear we are in the “Van Helsing” type of ballpark.

What do you think about the picture?