The rollout of Disney’s live-action Snow White has been anything but a fairy tale. There’s always a lot to lose by modernizing a beloved classic, in this case the 1937 animated film, but this new take — starring Rachel Zegler as the title character and Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen — has been shrouded in controversy for years. It was first reported that the film was in the works in 2016 , with a screenplay written by Erin Cressida Wilson ( The Girl on the Train ) and uncredited contributions from Greta Gerwig ( Barbie ) and others.
Marc Webb ( The Amazing Spider-Man ) signed on to direct in 2019. But drama started with the casting of Zegler, whose mother has Colombian roots, in 2021 and unfolded from there from comments the 23-year-old made about making the female character more empowered amid the narrative that Hollywood is too politically correct. The drama was fueled after Zegler publicly shared her personal politics, which conflicted with the 39-year-old Gadot’s.
Then there’s the matter of the seven dwarfs — with Disney using CGI to animate Grumpy, Bashful, Dopey and the gang instead of casting little people in the roles. Here are the biggest controversies of them all around the film, from Zegler’s casting backlash to Disney’s scaled-back press tour ahead of the film’s March 21 release. Zegler’s mere casting drew some bad apples Much like Halle Bailey playing Ariel in The Little Mermaid , there was a fuss over Zegler being cast as Snow White by some ha.