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- The live-action Snow White will be released on March 22, 2024.
- Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot star in the film.
- Rachel has been at the center of controversy over her comments about the film.
Snow White is the latest Disney fairytale that’s returning to the big screen soon. The 1937 animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, is being remade into an upcoming live-action film produced by Walt Disney Pictures. Snow White’s story has been portrayed in live-action before by Lily Collins in 2012’s Mirror Mirror and by Kristen Stewart in 2012’s Snow White and the Huntsman. Those films also featured Snow’s iconic antagonist, the Evil Queen, who will of course appear in the upcoming film.
Snow White was actually Disney’s first animated feature and is still so beloved by fans. This live-action film has been in the works since 2016, so there’s a ton of hype for it — and major controversy. HollywoodLife has rounded up everything we know, so far, about the next Snow White, including the cast, release date, and more.
Snow White Live-Action Movie Release Date
Snow White will be released exclusively in theaters on March 22, 2024. Disney has not revealed when the movie will be available on Disney+, but it will likely be after the film’s theatrical run.
After Rachel and Gal’s casting was officially announced, production on the live-action remake kicked off in March 2022. Filming briefly paused when a fire damaged the production set at Pinewood Studios in England. Gal confirmed in April 2022 that she finished filming her scenes, which include musical numbers. Filming concluded in July 2022.
Who Is Playing Snow White?
Rachel Zegler is the lucky actress playing Snow White in the live-action adaptation. She made her onscreen debut in Steven Spielberg‘s 2021 remake of West Side Story. She starred opposite Ansel Elgort and Ariana DeBose and won the Golden Globe for Best Actress — Motion Picture Comedy or Musical.
Rachel’s casting in Snow White was officially announced in June 2021. “Rachel’s extraordinary vocal abilities are just the beginning of her gifts,” director Marc Webb said in a statement. She also posted on Instagram, “Well… hello to a dream come true.” She later cut her hair into a short bob to play the Disney princess.
Rachel, who is Latina, faced unfair backlash for being cast in the lead role in Snow White, which she discussed on Variety’s Actors on Actors series with Andrew Garfield in January 2022.
“Never in a million years did I imagine that this would be a possibility for me. You don’t normally see Snow Whites that are of Latin descent,” she said in the interview. “You don’t particularly see people who look like me or are me playing roles like that. When it was announced, it was a huge thing that was trending on Twitter for days, because all of the people were angry. We need to love them in the right direction. At the end of the day, I have a job to do that I’m really excited to do. I get to be a Latina princess.”
Rachel Zegler Backlash
The movie hasn’t been released, and it’s already stirred up tons of debate. In recent months, past interviews Rachel Zegler did about the live-action adaptation resurfaced and went viral online. When the actress was asked about the live-action movie’s “modern edge” take on Snow White, Rachel told Variety, “I just mean that it’s no longer 1937. She’s not going to be saved by the prince and she’s not going to be dreaming about true love. She’s dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be and the leader that her late father told her that she could be if she was fearless, fair, brave, and true.”
In an interview with Extra, Rachel criticized the love story in Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs. “The original cartoon came out in 1937, and very evidently so. There’s a big focus on her love story with a guy who literally stalks her. Weird! Weird! So we didn’t do that this time,” she said. Rachel also joked that all of Andrew Burnap’s scenes “could get cut.” Andrew plays a new male character in the film. The resurfaced interview clips have sparked an intense backlash against Rachel, with people criticizing Rachel’s condemnation of the original film’s love story.
i hope the world becomes kinder
— rachel zegler (she/her/hers) (@rachelzegler) August 11, 2023
i love you very much. forever and ever. remember to be kind. treat each other with patience and empathy. remember that you are loved unconditionally, no matter your mistakes, no matter your misunderstandings. you deserve it. you deserve love. you deserve to live without fear. x
— rachel zegler (she/her/hers) (@rachelzegler) August 12, 2023
Rachel cryptically responded to the backlash in messages she posted on Twitter/X. “I hope the world becomes kinder,” she wrote at first. She later added, “I love you very much. Forever and ever. Remember to be kind. Treat each other with patience and empathy. Remember that you are loved unconditionally, no matter your mistakes, no matter your misunderstandings. You deserve it. You deserve love. You deserve to live without fear. x.”
David Hand, the son of an animator who helped direct the original movie, slammed Disney’s “woke” remake of the 1937 classic. “I mean, it’s a whole different concept, and I just totally disagree with it, and I know my dad and Walt would also very much disagree with it,” he told The Telegraph. He added that it’s a “bit insulting” what Disney has done with the “classic films. David continued, “There’s no respect for what Disney did and what my dad did… I think Walt and he would be turning in their graves.”
Snow White Cast & Crew
Rachel will star opposite Gal Gadot, who is playing the Evil Queen. Gal is best known for playing Wonder Woman in various films in the DC Extended Universe, including Wonder Woman, the sequel Wonder Woman 1984, and Justice League. Gal was officially cast in Snow White in November 2021 and teased the role at the premiere of her Netflix film Red Notice that month. “I can’t say much other than the fact that I’m so excited, and I cannot wait to get into the shoes and the crown of the Evil Queen,” she told People.
The final star confirmed for the remake is Andrew Burnap, who is playing a new character named Jonathan. Andrew starred in the Broadway production The Inheritance and won a Tony Award. He appeared in the 2018 film The Chaperone and has had television roles in Younger, The Good Fight, WeCrashed, and Under the Banner of Heaven.
Marc Webb is directing the Snow White remake. He previously directed The Amazing Spider-Man and its sequel which starred Andrew Garfield. Greta Gerwig and Erin Cressida Wilson are writing the screenplay, while Marc Platt is producing. Mandy Walker is the cinematographer, Mark Sanger is the editor, and the music is by the songwriting duo Pasek & Paul, who previously worked on La La Land and The Greatest Showman. Walt Disney Pictures is producing and distributing the remake.
Snow White Plot Details
The live-action Snow White is expected to “expand upon the story and music from the beloved animated classic,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film will include “new songs” similar to the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid.
The story of Snow White comes from the 1812 fairytale by the Brothers Grimm. The live-action movie is an adaptation of the 1937 animated film, which was loosely based on the fairytale. Expected to see the magic mirror, the poisoned apple, and the glass coffin, and more in the remake.
More details about the plot are not currently known. Disney debuted the first trailer at the D23 Expo in September 2022, but the footage has not been released wide. Rachel’s amazing reaction was caught on video, which you can see here. She teared up at the crowd’s response! “I didn’t even see it! I didn’t see what you guys saw!” she said.
Snow White Controversy
Snow’s allies, the Seven Dwarfs, are expected to appear in the live-action adaptation. However, the film has come under fire by Game of Thrones alum Peter Dinklage, who has a form of dwarfism. He criticized the remake during an interview on Marc Maron‘s podcast in January 2022. “It makes no sense to me. You’re progressive in one way, but then you’re still making that f**king backwards story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together, what the f**k are you doing, man?” Peter said.
Disney responded to his criticism in a statement and said “to avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film, we are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community.”
