Similar to Disney’s 1937 animated masterpiece, the next movie is mostly based on the Brothers Grimm’s 19th-century German fairy tale. Audiences may, however, anticipate certain contemporary alterations to the tale, such as the replacement of her seven dwarf companions with a varied cast of forest-dwelling people.
A 30-second first-look teaser for the movie was shown during Disney’s 2022 D23 Expo presentation. It featured a scene showing Zegler’s Snow White taking her ill-fated bite out of the poison apple.
Gal Gadot, who plays the Evil Queen, will be joining Rachel Zegler, the head of the cast. In June 2021, Zegler—the breakout star of the 2021 “West Side Story” remake—was chosen to portray Snow White. She revealed to ExtraTV a few months later that she would be playing Snow White, who would be “stronger” than the original.
It was revealed a few months later that Marvel actress Gal Gadot would be portraying the Evil Queen. The 38-year-old celebrity, who hadn’t sung in a while, revealed to GQ that singing was a requirement for her audition.
Snow White Controversy
As the princess is described as having skin “as white as snow,” the casting of West Side Story star Rachel Zegler as Snow White initially prompted racist backlash from commentators who thought Zegler, who is of Colombian and Polish descent, wasn’t pale enough for the part.
In a Variety interview, Zegler recognized the criticism, saying that she was “trending on Twitter for days because all of the people were angry.” Zegler went on to say that he was proud to be playing “a Latina princess” and that “Snow White is really a big deal in Spanish-speaking countries.”
Zegler shared photos of herself as several Disney princesses when she was younger on “X,” the website that was once known as Twitter. I’m extremely grateful for the support I’ve received from people online, but please don’t tag me in the absurd debate regarding my casting. She wrote a caption for the pictures. I really hope I don’t have to see it.
Thus, I give you these pictures! Every child should know that they can always be a princess, in my opinion. Keep in mind that Snow White, not Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, is the name of the upcoming movie. The six companions in the planned adaptation are portrayed by non-dwarf actors, leaving just one dwarf actor.
Online criticism has been directed towards the remake’s proposed inclusion of seven dwarfs despite the fact that their exclusion has also generated controversy.
During an appearance on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast, Peter Dinklage, the star of Game of Thrones, called Disney’s remake a “backward story” and expressed his surprise that the cast of Snow White was delighted to cast a Latina actress in the role, but you are still telling the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Disney responded to Dinklage’s remarks by saying, “We are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community in order to avoid stereotypes from the original animated film.”
When marketing her movies, Zegler is known to speak candidly and humorously rather than in stilted PR language. She has even quipped that she accepted a role in Shazam 2 because she “needed a job.”
Zegler made a number of casual remarks last year while marketing Snow White, in which she lightheartedly parodied the original animation.
Following the discovery of Zegler’s remarks on TikTok, a sudden outcry of outrage from creators accused Zegler of “hating” Snow White and adopting a “pseudo-feminist” interpretation of the original animation.
The West Side Story actress claimed she was “scared of the original version” and that she had “watched it once and never picked it up again” in an interview with Entertainment Weekly back in December.
Zegler discussed the alterations made to the original in a September interview with Variety, stressing that “it’s no longer 1937” and that Snow White “wasn’t going to be saved by the prince.” Furthermore, she won’t be daydreaming about real love.
She has a dream of becoming the leader she knows she is capable of being. Zegler’s tone was met with criticism from an unholy combination of Disney adults, anti-woke content artists, and well-known FilmTok critics who called her a “walking PR disaster for Disney” and even accused her of “shaming anyone who liked” the animated original.
