Disney's live-action remakes of its animated classic have always drawn mixed reviews from fans. However, given how beloved a property Snow White is, it's hardly surprising that attempting to retell and modernise the story has drawn quite a bit of backlash.
Doing little to help matters are those who express faux outrage at "woke" decisions in Hollywood, and by casting Latina actress Rachel Zegler (Shazam! Fury of the Gods) as Snow White, she's been a target since day one.
Talking to Variety (via Toonado.com), Snow White director Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man) says he "wept" upon hearing her singing voice and says Zegler "has an inherent grace, poise and goodness that reminds me so much of what is essential to Snow White."
For those unhappy that the character - who first graced the big screen in 1937 - will no longer have "skin as white as snow," Zegler explains how it's now addressed in the movie. "It fell back to another version of 'Snow White' that was told in history, where she survived a snowstorm that occurred when she was a baby. And so the king and queen decided to name her Snow White to remind her of her resilience."
"One of the core points in our film for any young woman or young person is remembering how strong you actually are." It's a change which makes sense, though there will inevitably be those who use this as another excuse to target the actor.
Of course, it was a 2022 interview which has haunted Zegler as it was that summer she talked about how aspects of the original Snow White were "weird" before comparing the movie's prince to a stalker. Ultimately, that only served to increase the online backlash as it suggested she had some level of disdain for the original story.
"In all honesty, it made me sad that it was taken in such a way, because I believe that women can do anything," she tells the trade. "But I also believe that they can do everything."
"I would never want to box someone in and say, ‘If you want love, then you can’t work.’ Or ‘If you want to work, then you can’t have a family.’ It’s not true. It’s never been true. It can be very upsetting when things get taken out of context or jokes don’t land."
"The love story is very integral. A lot of people wrote that we weren’t doing [that storyline] anymore - we were always doing that; it just wasn’t what we were talking about on that day."
"I’ve watched women get torn down my whole life, my whole career," Zegler added after admitting seeing her comments taken out of context and weaponised against didn't come as a surprise. "We’ll watch it in the election that’s upcoming. We’re gonna witness that for a long time, I fear. Sometimes it can feel like we’re going back; it certainly felt that way when that was happening."
It's believed that Snow White has undergone extensive reshoots, largely to bring the movie more in line with the cartoon. That's reportedly included adding the Seven Dwarfs after they were initially replaced with a group of bandits.
Snow White arrives in theaters on March 21, 2025.