In the future, film historians will look back to the year 2011 and talk of the great "Snow White" war, when two studio titans engaged in race to see who could deliver the first big budget adaptation of a public domain fantasy story. An epic tale.

Unfortunately, for those of us living in 2011, the whole mess is starting to be downright confusing.

The latest news from the battlefield gives a glimmer of hope to one of the "Snow White" projects: "Deadwood" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" actor Ian McShane has signed on to "Snow White and the Huntsman" as a dwarf, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

McShane will play Caeser, leader of Snow White's pint-size pals, alongside Kristen Stewart as the aforementioned fair maiden and Chris Hemsworth, as the man who trains Snow White to kick ass. Remember that part of the story?

"Snow White and the Huntsman" has a lot of traction to make up for -- it's set to open in theaters on June 1, 2012, while its competitor "Snow White," opens March 16, 2012 -- but solid casting like McShane is a good start. Whether they'll employ the same camera trickery used in "Lord of the Rings" to drop McShane down a few shoulder lengths or cut him down with CG magic, one thing is for sure -- Caeser won't be a quiet dwarf. He might be tiny, but McShane can pack quite the punch.