Snow White (2024 film)

Director Marc Webb (left) and screenwriters Greta Gerwig (middle) and Erin Cressida Wilson (right).

On October 31, 2016, Variety reported that Walt Disney Pictures was developing a live-action remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, with Erin Cressida Wilson being in talks to write the screenplay.[4] On May 30, 2019, it was reported that Marc Webb was in talks to direct the film.[5] In November 2021, Greta Gerwig was reported to be co-writing the screenplay.[6] Gurinder Chadha was also heavily considered for the job.[7]

In June 2021, Rachel Zegler was cast in the titular role,[8] and in November, Gal Gadot was cast as the Evil Queen.[9] On December 7, 2021, during an interview with ExtraTV, Rachel Zegler revealed that Snow White would be a lot "stronger" than the original.[10] A new casting search was announced for a young actress to star as a younger version of Snow White in the live-action remake.[11] On January 12, 2022, it was announced that Andrew Burnap was cast as a new character named Jonathan in the lead male role,[2] replacing the character of The Prince.[12] 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 2001 made-for-television film Snow White: The Fairest of Them All as Friday, and in the 2012 fantasy comedy Mirror Mirror as Butcher.[13]

In August 2023, it was revealed that another Latina actress named Renata Vaca was one of two finalists in the casting process for the role of Snow White, the other being Zegler who ultimately won the role. Vaca, a Mexican national, stated that the casting call for the role of Snow White was "open to all ethnic groups", and that the first phase of auditioning consisted of singing a Disney Princess song. Vaca went on to be cast in the American horror sequel Saw X.[14]

Filming for Snow White was originally set to begin in March 2020 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, but it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[15][16][17] In August 2021, it was announced that filming would take place in the United Kingdom[18] from March to July 2022.[19] Principal photography began on March 7, 2022.[20] A fire damaged the production set on March 15 at Pinewood Studios; the stage was under construction when a tree reportedly caught on fire, leading to a huge blaze.[21] A source from Disney confirmed that "no filming was underway".[22] 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 colleagues.[23] While Zegler was attending the ceremony, Gadot began filming her scenes.[24] During a podcast interview with Forbes, Gadot revealed that she sings and dances in the film.[25] On April 22, Gadot confirmed that she had completed filming her scenes,[26] much later adding that playing the role of the first Disney villain ever was "fun and delicious", feeling that she was able to make a more dramatic role by changing her voice due to the film being a musical.[27] On July 13, Zegler revealed that filming had wrapped.[28][29]

Moving Picture Company provided the visual effects.[30]

The choice to cast Latina actress Rachel Zegler as Snow White, a character described in the original material as having skin "as white as snow,"[38] attracted some controversy. While appearing on Variety's Actors on Actors series with Andrew Garfield, Zegler responded to the Snow White casting backlash with comments such as:

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 am really excited to do. I get to be a Latina princess.

— Rachel Zegler[39]

Zegler attracted criticism over statements expressing disapproval of the original film, the Prince, and Snow White's character.[40][41] In response to her comments, many rebuked her for making Snow White "more feminist",[42] while others criticized her for misinterpreting feminism, with accusations of promoting the girlboss archetype or maligning women that seek traditional feminine roles uninterested in power or leadership. Conversely, Zegler received online support from those who considered the criticism excessive and part of cancel culture. Ashten Stein, a brand strategist, felt that Zegler's statements made it appear that she had not received media training for marketing the film.[43][44]

David Hand, whose father of the same name co-directed the original animated movie, criticized the remake, describing it as "insulting" and suggesting that his father and Walt Disney would be "turning in their graves".[45]

This controversy would lead to conservative media organization The Daily Wire announcing deliberately on October 16, 2023 (the day of Disney's 100th anniversary) the launch of the streaming service Bentkey and the upcoming release of their own live-action adaptation of the original fairy tale, Snow White and the Evil Queen, set for release in 2024 in an effort to compete with Disney's version.[46]

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".[47] In response to Dinklage's comments, Disney stated 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."[48][49] Numerous other actors with dwarfism responded negatively to Dinklage's comments, feeling he was unduly speaking on their behalf and costing them roles.[50]

In July 2023, footage of the production from Berkshire revealed that the depiction of the Seven Dwarfs had been reimagined for the film, consisting of only one actor with dwarfism along with six other non-dwarf actors of varying ethnicity, 6 males and 1 female portraying the associated set of seven individuals, who were originally all portrayed as supernatural beings from German folklore, not actual human beings.[51] After initially denying reports that these images depicted the actual film production, Disney later confirmed that they did indeed depict the production, with stand-in actors substituting for the leads (the already confirmed actor Martin Klebba not appearing in said footage).[52][53] The decision to reimagine the characters as such was criticised by mainstream and social media sources as being overly politically correct[51][53] as well as potentially taking away acting opportunities from the dwarfism community.[54] Jackass actor Jason "Wee Man" Acuña criticised Disney for not casting dwarf actors and expressed disappointment about the changes.[55] Acuña said "You're replacing jobs that people could have as little people. It's for dwarfs. Why are you hiring 'Snow White and the seven average people'?"[56] Wrestler/actor Dylan Postl also disagreed with Dinklage's view and in an interview with Piers Morgan, he echoed Acuña's sentiments and defended the portrayal of the dwarf characters in the animated film.[57]