Snow White Live-Action Remake - What We Know So Far
Another Disney animated classic is getting the live action treatment. Following in the footsteps of films such as 2017's "Beauty and the Beast," and 2019's "Aladdin," the next live action remake will be based on 1937's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."
This upcoming "Snow White" remake has been in the works for several years now. Back in 2016, it was reported that the project had acquired its screenwriter (via The Hollywood Reporter). Erin Cressida Wilson — who has written films such as the 2014 indie "Men, Women & Children" and the 2016 thriller "The Girl on the Train" — is writing the screenplay. Songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who wrote lyrics for "La La Land" and worked on the new original music in the recent "Aladdin" remake, are writing music for the upcoming film.
After a few years of no new updates on the project, in 2019, Variety reported that director Marc Webb would be helming the new "Snow White." Webb made his film directorial debut with 2009's "500 Days of Summer," before going on to direct 2012's "The Amazing Spider-Man" and its 2014 sequel.
Here's everything else we know about the upcoming "Snow White" live action remake.
When will Snow White be released?
As of now there's no release date for the upcoming "Snow White" film. In fact, the details out about the project are still pretty sparse, so the production is likely still in early development. As more details come out, we'll be able to better speculate as to when the release date might be.
This upcoming Marc Webb-directed film will not be the first time that the Snow White story has been made into a live action adaptation. Notably, two films featuring Snow White were released in 2012. Firstly there was the fantasy comedy version, "Mirror Mirror," directed by Tarsem Singh, with Lily Collins starring as the princess and Julia Roberts as Snow White's evil stepmother. A couple months later, a darker take on the story,"Snow White and the Huntsman" was released, starring Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, and Charlize Theron.
The upcoming "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" will be the first live action film appearance of the character since the two 2012 adaptations (Snow White was also a major character on the television show, "Once Upon a Time," which ran from 2011 to 2018, where the character was played by Ginnifer Goodwin). The forthcoming film will also be the first appearance of the character in a Walt Disney Studios film since the classic animated film in 1937.
Who will star in Snow White?
The star of the new film has just been announced: Rachel Zegler will portray the titular Disney princess in the upcoming feature (via Deadline). Zegler is brand new to Hollywood, with only a few credits to her name — none of which have come out yet. Zegler will next be seen in the forthcoming remake of "West Side Story," in which she portrays the lead character of Maria. "West Side Story" is slated to premiere December 10, 2021. Additionally, Zegler has been cast in "Shazam: Fury of the Gods," the sequel to 2019's "Shazam!"
Upon news of her casting, director Marc Webb said of the star, "Rachel's extraordinary vocal abilities are just the beginning of her gifts. Her strength, intelligence and optimism will become an integral part of rediscovering the joy in this classic Disney fairytale" (via Deadline). Zegler herself also reacted to the news of her casting on Instagram, writing, "well... hello to a dream come true."
With the star announced, we can hopefully expect more casting news to be revealed soon. The next key roles likely to be cast include Snow White's love interest, known only as The Prince in the 1937 animated film, and the princess's evil stepmother, the Evil Queen.
What will Snow White be about?
If Walt Disney Studios' other recent live action films, such as "Beauty and the Beast," are anything to go off of, then we can expect the upcoming "Snow White" to stick closely to its animated counterpart.
In 1937's "Snow White," the Evil Queen, jealous of the beauty of Snow White, orders for her stepdaughter to be killed. Yet, when the huntsman is unable to follow through on the queen's orders, he saves Snow White's life by telling her what the queen wanted and telling her to hide away. When the Evil Queen discovers that Snow White is alive and living in a cottage with seven dwarfs, she disguises herself as an old hag and sets out to finish the job herself. And after successfully poisoning Snow White, it's up to the handsome prince that Snow White met in the forest to save her from an endless sleep with true love's kiss.
It's pretty likely that the new version will have some tweaks made to it to better fit modern audiences. After all, some details of the original story have not aged incredibly well, from the dated damsel in distress trope to the non-consensual kissing that plays a key role in the plot. We'll just have to wait and see what changes — if any — Disney decides to make to update the story.