Snow White has faced more scrutiny than any other Disney live-action remake, likely because it appears to have made a series of sweeping changes to the beloved 1937 animated classic.
The first was casting Latina actress Rachel Zegler as the title character (leading to the expected racist backlash), but even more problematic for many Disney fans was the decision to ditch the Seven Dwarfs in preference for a group of "politically correct" Bandits.
The studio appears to have taken the negative backlash on board, adding cartoon-accurate versions of the group to the movie after delaying it by a year, presumably to allow time for extensive reshoots. Of course, doing little to help matters are past comments from Zegler in which she suggested the original story was outdated and dismissed Prince Florian as a "stalker."
Doing the rounds to promote The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Zegler seems to have avoided being asked too much about what's going on behind the scenes. She did, however, share new insights into her approach to the character while speaking with Collider.
"Something that kind of emerged was this leader within her that I was so happy that the writers wanted her to be, and the fact that it's born out of her upbringing, but she finds it within herself throughout the course of the film and throughout the people that love her in the film and show their love for her. Marc Webb and I kind of called it her third eye opening."
"There's a couple of scenes in there where she's speaking like someone who's been alive for much longer than she has, and that's something that I relate to, something that I've been told all my life. So, getting to bring that to a character that I love so deeply and that I've spent so much time with now, it's a really amazing thing as an actor and as a performer, and I can't wait for people to get to see it."
Snow White is going to feature a more proactive version of the title character, but is that not for the best? The closest the original version gets to being a leader is by becoming the head of the Seven Dwarfs' household when she cooks and cleans for them.
This also wouldn't be the first time we've seen something along these lines as Universal's Snow White and the Huntsman movies also gave the Princess a little more to do, turning the character into a full-blown warrior. It's going to be interesting to see how this one comes together, anyway, and whether all the backlash and negative headlines are ultimately justified.
Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man) directs Snow White from a screenplay by Barbie director Greta Gerwig and playwright Erin Cressida Wilson.
In terms of cast, the movie stars Rachel Zegler as Snow White, Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen, Ansu Kabia as the Huntsman, Martin Klebba as Grumpy, and Andrew Burnap as Jonathan.
Snow White is now set to be released in theaters on March 21, 2025.