Disney’s live-action remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs has somehow managed to become the most controversial movie of the year — and it’s not even coming out until 2025.
Between questions about casting, unprovoked attacks on the lead actress, and filming delays, the whole thing is off to a shaky start. Of course, most, if not all, of Disney’s live action remakes have hit bumps in the production road. But Snow White feels like it’s shouldering more difficulties than usual. Now, we’re not saying we’ve reached Don’t Worry Darling levels of controversy, but there is quite a bit to unpack…
Rachel Zegler Cast As Snow White, Immediately Angers People
The live-action Snow White was targeted by trolls from the minute it was announced Rachel Zegler would play the titular role back in 2021. People were angry that a Latina woman was cast as Snow White. How dare we try to expand the scope of a character made in the 19th century, right? Wait, a fictional Disney princess casting angering racist trolls on the internet? Hm, that seems familiar.
Rachel responded to the criticism in a now-deleted tweet, saying, “Yes I am Snow White. No, I am not bleaching my skin for the role.” It’s sad she even had to address it, especially given how excited she was to play the role in the first place. “Never in a million years did I imagine that this would be a possibility for me,” she told Andrew Garfield for Variety’s ‘Actors on Actors’ series, “You don’t particularly see people who look like me or are me playing roles like that.” In the same interview, Rachel said “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.”
Disney Making A “PC Snow White”
It wasn’t enough that people slammed Rachel for simply being cast as Snow White. Oh no. They also attacked the way she dared to describe the remake’s story.
“The original cartoon came out in 1937, and very evidently so,” she told ExtraTV at the D23 Expo. “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.” Makes sense. Do people really think that a cartoon from 1937, itself an adaptation of a story from 1812, wouldn’t need to be brought into a modern day context? Let’s be real.
At the same event, she told Variety that in the remake Snow White’s “not going to be saved by the prince, and she’s not going to be dreaming about true love. She’s going to be dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be, and that her late father told her that she could be if she was fearless, fair, brave, and true”.
Seems like a fair thing to say, right? Wrong. A lot of people were unhappy with Rachel’s comments. The wave of hate, anger, and abuse that came Rachel’s way was intense.
It just gets worse and worse….
The new Snow White says that the Prince was a creepy stalker and suggests that all scenes of the Prince could be cut
She’s a walking PR disaster for Disney pic.twitter.com/7QJGDIx5er
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) August 13, 2023
I thought Rachel zegler ran over somebody grandma or sumn….. imagine my surprise
— HOOD VOGUE is tired of poverty (@keyon) August 13, 2023
In another interview she did for Entertainment Weekly, Rachel said that she was “scared” of the original Snow White. “I think I watched it once and never picked it up again. I’m being so serious,” she said. Obviously, that angered the Disney purists beyond belief.
Rachel Zegler admitting she didn’t like Snow White growing up, saying she had only watched it ONCE before getting the role is so sad to me. Out of MILLIONS of women who loved the character, care about the story and yet this is who we get. 🤡🤢 pic.twitter.com/IVKQN4FIHc
— Vara Dark (@Vara_Dark) August 10, 2023
The drama surrounding Rachel Zegler and her comments still follow her to this day. In October of last year, she told Vanity Fair that “people are making these jokes about ours being the PC Snow White, where it’s like, yeah, it is — because it needed that.” She added, “It’s an 85-year-old cartoon… our version is a refreshing story about a young woman who has a function beyond ‘Someday My Prince Will Come’.”
You’d think that would be the end of that right? Also wrong. Everything kicked back up again when TikTok got a hold of her comments, calling her “pseudo-feminist”. Some people were quick to point out that Rachel’s comments weren’t any different from men who have said they didn’t like their characters or the original source material, including Jacob Elordi. The only difference is that the men weren’t dragged the same way Rachel was.
miss rachel zegler should not be in such hot water over saying snow white wasn’t ahead of it’s time (true), it wasn’t a childhood favorite of hers (honest), and the remake is going to attempt more feminism (something i think ALL of the other live-action princesses have said??)
— julia (@juliaannecudney) August 13, 2023
okay but when Rachel Zegler says she wasn’t a fan of the original Snow White (a cartoon btw), and only revisited it for her role as Snow White, she’s “entitled” and a brat.
this just confirms rachel zegler hate is literally just misogyny. https://t.co/wnLTHPLCbW
— ice 🦋 (@aficionad0__) October 24, 2023
Who Should Be Playing The “Dwarfs”?
Perhaps the biggest controversy facing Snow White from the beginning was over who would play Snow White’s “Seven Dwarfs”. Some also questioned why the movie was being remade in the first place, given that the original relies on negative tropes and stereotypes about people with dwarfism.
Back in January 2022, Peter Dinklage called out Disney for choosing to remake Snow White, saying it was “fucking backwards”.
“I was a little taken aback by [the fact] they were very proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White,” Dinklage, who has a form of dwarfism known as achondroplasia, said on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast, adding “but you’re still telling the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”.
“You’re progressive in one way but you’re still making that fucking backward story of seven dwarves living in the cave. What the fuck are you doing, man? Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soapbox? I guess I’m not loud enough… They were so proud of that, and all love and respect to the actress and the people who thought they were doing the right thing but I’m just like, ‘What are you doing?’”
After Dinklage called out the double standard, Disney released a statement saying they were taking “a different approach with these seven characters” to avoid “reinforcing stereotypes”. They also said they were working with members of the dwarfism community.
Then photos from an apparent film shoot emerged, which created another controversy. The alleged leaks, run by The Daily Mail, showed a group of people walking through a field with an actress (not Rachel) dressed up as Snow White. People immediately said Disney had “gone woke”, pointing out that Snow White’s “companions” were different “genders, ethnicities and heights”. God forbid we have diversity. Many assumed that Disney had cut the Seven Dwarfs entirely. Disney responded by saying the leaks were fake and not from their production.
Then, Disney released the first look at the live-action remake. It showed Rachel sitting in a chair surrounded by seven CGI dwarfs. It appears that Disney has cast Martin Klebba to play all seven parts (he originally announced he would play Grumpy), and used CGI when all of the characters are together. The reaction fairly suggested that the production could have cast more people from the dwarf community, instead of just one.
First look at ‘SNOW WHITE’, starring Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot.
In theaters on March 21, 2025. pic.twitter.com/C9OXfIMZG2
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) October 27, 2023
Already not gonna watch it because gal Gadot but this image also disgusts me cause there’s no way they cgi’d the dwarfs instead of employing actually little people like there’s something so wild about that to me https://t.co/d7kEGv7PjY
— kira-ann (@Kukiweed) October 29, 2023
isn’t it crazy how people mocked peter dinklage for wanting little people to be employed for this movie so they have actor rep and then they pull this shit
— I just realized I could change my display name now (@CurlySquared) October 29, 2023
Gal Gadot Plays The Evil Queen
Another controversy that slammed into the Snow White remake was the casting of Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen. The actress has drawn criticism for a long time for being a strong supporter of the state of Israel. She also served two years mandatory service in the Israel Defence Force.
Back in 2021, she said that her “heart breaks” for Israel. “Israel deserves to live as a free and safe nation,” she said. “Our neighbors deserve the same.” Her comments came under fire from many, including activist and writer Aaron Valley, who said Gal’s statements were “far worse than that tone-deaf imagine video from last year. ‘Free and Safe.’ The same state that is perpetrating military occupation, land theft and ethnic cleansing against the people of Palestine.”
Gal Gadot is wrong.
Israel is not at ‘war’ with Palestine. Israel is butchering Palestine.
Again.— James Kennedy ✊ (@JamesKennedyUK) May 12, 2021
Israeli soldier turned Hollywood’s Wonder Woman multimillionaire Gal Gadot sends meaningless thoughts and prayers as the Israeli apartheid regime she supports ethnically cleanses Palestinians and bombs Gazans in an open-air prison camp
(She also blocked response to this tweet) https://t.co/AbirG7z3jX
— Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) May 12, 2021
Recently, Gal appeared to suggest that an Israeli ceasefire wasn’t a good idea because Hamas was still holding hostages in Gaza. This also upset people.
Gal Gadot saying that people who are asking for a ceasefire have lost their “humanity” is so telling, because it represents that in her eyes, the Palestinians are not part of humanity. That’s how Israel supporters justify the genocide – they consider indigenous people animals.
— Quinton Reviews🎬 (@Q_Review) October 28, 2023
Gal Gadot saying that calling for a ceasefire fire on Gaza isn’t ok is evil.
I want her career ended.I will never see a film with her in it or support anything her name is attached to. I don’t care who else is involved, be they Black, Latinx, or Asian.
I. DO. NOT. CARE. https://t.co/kCcSWTpyRj— Carolyn Hinds 🇧🇧 #FreePalestine #EyesOnCongo (@CarrieCnh12) October 28, 2023
BOYCOTT THIS MOVIE!!
gal gadot is a zionist and a member of IDF who’s been terrorising and committing crimes against humanity towards palestine for over 75 years now. https://t.co/vQeFFkSiu9
— bjo🧚🏻♀️ (@livingformalik) October 28, 2023
Wait, Greta Gerwig Wrote It?
This isn’t actually controversial but I literally had no idea that Greta Gerwig co-wrote the screenplay for the live-action Snow White. I feel like that should’ve been bigger news but perhaps, given all the drama, it’s best this information stays on the down low, for her sake.
It does make me wonder why people are angry that her Snow White will feature female empowerment. It’s Greta Gerwig. Did anyone watch Barbie?
You Can’t Watch Snow White Until 2025
In addition to all the drama, Disney confirmed that Snow White will now be delayed from March 2024 to March 2025. 2025! That’s a long ass time to wait for a movie that’s already caused such a commotion.
It’s believed the film has been delayed as a result of the SAG-AFTRA strikes, which recently ended. The strikes obviously impacted the release schedules for 2024 meaning projects had to be shuffled around.
Disney’s live-action ‘SNOW WHITE’ starring Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot has been delayed by one year to March 21, 2025.
It was originally set for a March 22, 2024 release. pic.twitter.com/Homrxts3WM
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) October 27, 2023
Perhaps the delay will mean people will forget about all the controversy. Or people will just get angrier and angrier. Either way, 2025 should be interesting.
Ky is a proud Kamilaroi and Dharug person and writer at Junkee. Follow them on Instagram or on X.
Image: Disney / IMDb / ET
