In 2023, Disney will unveil its latest remake of one of its classic films, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Though most details surrounding the film are shrouded in mystery, it seems as though the studio is making a drastic departure from the original 1937 animated classic. The film’s star Rachel Zegler teases a departure from the damsel-in-distress, and that Snow White will act heroic and be an active character in the remake.
“It’s an iconic cartoon, it’s 85 years old, and Marc Webb, our director, is so dedicated to making a hero princess for his daughter,” Zegler told the Associated Press. “I really love that sentiment and I hope it get echoed for all eternity when we make live-action versions of these Disney cartoons, where women are seen as a little bit less than the male characters. I think it’s possible to be both a princess and a hero, and I like to be both.”
“It’s possible to be a princess and a hero.” @rachelzegler discusses her upcoming role as Snow White on the #Grammys carpet pic.twitter.com/aOJpfanRoj
— AP Entertainment (@APEntertainment) April 3, 2022
Being Disney’s first animated feature, Snow White has not received the same sequel treatment some of its other animated movies have. This makes the remake all the more interesting.
The most notable change so far is that magical creatures will replace the Seven Dwarves. This announcement followed harsh criticism from high-profile actors with dwarfism. In January, Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage blasted the movie on Marc Maron’s WTF Podcast, calling it a “f-cking backwards” depiction of dwarves, adding, “what the f-ck are you doing man?”
Since then, Disney has released a statement regarding his criticisms, saying that during the film’s development, they want to “avoid reinforcing stereotypes” and “have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community.” Despite talking with the dwarfism community, Disney decided to scrap the dwarves from the film altogether.
500 Days of Summer and The Amazing Spider-Man director Marc Webb will helm the film with Zegler as Snow White and Wonder Woman‘s Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen.