Snow White is an upcoming American musical fantasy film directed by Marc Webb, from a screenplay by Greta Gerwig and Erin Cressida Wilson. Co-produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Marc Platt Productions, it is a live-action adaptation of Disney's 1937 animated film, which itself is loosely based on the 1812 fairy tale of the same title by the Brothers Grimm. The film stars Rachel Zegler as Snow White and Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen.
Plans for a remake of 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs were confirmed in October 2016, with Wilson announced as a screenwriter. Webb entered talks to direct the film in May 2019 and joined the film as director in September 2019. Filming took place primarily at Pinewood Studios in England from March to July 2022.
Snow White is scheduled to be released theatrically in the United States on March 21, 2025, by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
Cast[]
- Rachel Zegler as Snow White
- Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen
- Andrew Burnap as Jonathan, a new character for the film
- Martin Klebba as Grumpy
- Dujonna Gift
- Colin Michael Carmichael
Production[]
Development[]
On October 31, 2016, Variety reported that Walt Disney Pictures was developing a live-action remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), with Erin Cressida Wilson being in talks to write the screenplay. On May 30, 2019, it was reported that Marc Webb was in talks to direct the film. In November 2021, Greta Gerwig was reported to be co-writing the screenplay alongside Wilson.
Casting[]
In June 2021, Rachel Zegler was cast in the titular role, and in November, Gal Gadot was cast as the Evil Queen. On December 7, 2021, during an interview with ExtraTV, Zegler revealed that Snow White would be a lot stronger than the original. A new casting search was announced for a young actress to star as a younger version of Snow White in the live-action remake. On January 12, 2022, it was announced that Andrew Burnap was cast in the lead male role as a new character. At the 2022 Denver Fan Expo, Martin Klebba revealed that he would be portraying Grumpy in the film; Klebba previously played similar dwarf roles in prior productions based on the "Snow White" fairy tale: in the made-for-television film Snow White: The Fairest of Them All (2001) as Friday, and in the fantasy comedy film Mirror Mirror (2012) as Butcher.
Snow White casting[]
While appearing on Variety's Actors on Actors series with Andrew Garfield, Zegler opened up on the Snow White casting backlash. The young star recalled the casting announcement trending on Twitter for days due to the heated response to her landing the role, and how she is looking to use this role and response for more positive means rather than let it get to her. She said: "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. Even though Snow White is really a big deal in Spanish-speaking countries. Blanca Nieves is a huge icon whether you're talking about the Disney cartoon or just different iterations and the Grimm fairy tale and all the stories that come with it. But 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."
Peter Dinklage's comments[]
In January 2022, during an interview on Marc Maron's WTF podcast, actor Peter Dinklage, who has a form of dwarfism and has played dwarfish characters in his career, commented on the upcoming live-action Snow White remake, dismissing it as a "backward story". He said: "Literally no offense to anyone, but I was a little taken aback when they were very proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White, but you're still telling the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Take a step back and look at what you're doing there. It makes no sense to me... You're progressive in one way, but then you're still making that fucking backwards story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together, what the fuck are you doing, man? Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soap box? I guess I'm not loud enough. I don't know which studio that is, but they were so proud of it. All love and respect to the actress and all the people who thought they were doing the right thing. But I'm just like, what are you doing?"
In response to Dinklage's comments, Disney clarified that "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." The film was also retitled to simply Snow White, due to the absence of the titular Seven Dwarfs from the original film. Numerous other actors with dwarfism responded negatively to Dinklage's comments, feeling he was unduly speaking on their behalf and costing them roles.
Filming[]
Filming for Snow White was originally set to begin in March 2020 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, but the start date was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In August 2021, it was announced that filming would take place in the United Kingdom from March to July 2022. Principal photography began on March 7, 2022. A fire damaged the production set on March 15 at Pinewood Studios; the stage was under construction when a tree reportedly caught alight, leading to a huge blaze. A source from Disney confirmed that "no filming was underway". The shooting schedule was also reconfigured in order for Zegler to travel to Los Angeles to present at the 94th Academy Awards ceremony on March 27, in support of her West Side Story (2021) colleagues. While Zegler was attending the ceremony, Gadot began filming her scenes. During a podcast interview with Forbes, Gadot revealed that she sings and dances in the film.On April 22, Gadot confirmed that she had completed filming her scenes. On July 13, Zegler revealed that filming had wrapped.
Visual effects[]
Moving Picture Company provided the visual effects for the film.
Marketing[]
On September 9, 2022, during Disney's 2022 D23 Expo presentation, a 30-second first-look teaser of the film as well as first-look images were previewed. There were quick flashes of several major settings, including Snow White's cottage in the woods, the intricately designed interior of the Queen's castle and the moss-covered forest. There were also short glimpses of Gadot as the Evil Queen questioning her magic mirror, Zegler as Snow White, and Snow White's hand falling with the poisoned apple toppling along with her. Gadot said about her role that playing the Evil Queen was "very different than what [she] had done before. [She is] used to playing the other end of where the heart should be", but she found it very "delightful" to "get under her skin". The title logo of the film was also revealed. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Zegler criticized the "jokes" that were being made about the film's modern updates, including her casting in the role of Snow White as a Latina, and addressed the film's "politically correct" approach, saying: "People are making these jokes about ours being the PC Snow White, where it’s like, yeah, it is —because it needed that. It's an 85-year-old cartoon, and our version is a refreshing story about a young woman who has a function beyond "Someday My Prince Will Come."
Release[]
During the 2022 D23 Expo Presentation, it was announced that Snow White would be released in 2024. On September 15, 2022, the film was announced to have a release date of March 22, 2024. However, in October 2023, the film was delayed to a year for March 21, 2025, with Disney claiming it was due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Insiders said that Disney was worried about the film's performance at the box office, having spent upwards of $330 million; becoming a box office bomb would harm the potential of future live-action adaptations and remakes of their animated films. They are planning to do reshoots since the SAG-AFTRA strike ended.