Snow White: Release Date, Cast & Everything We Know About Disney's Live-Action Remake

Summary Disney's live-action Snow White remake is highly anticipated and has gained attention and controversy due to its delayed release date and casting choices.

The film, directed by Marc Webb and written by Greta Gerwig, aims to pay tribute to the original while making notable alterations, including a more proactive and independent Snow White.

The movie will still be a musical, featuring both classic songs from the original film and new songs created by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.

Disney is hard at work on a live-action Snow White remake following the lead of previous revamps like Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. In some ways, it is a bit surprising that Disney waited as long as it has to do a remake of Snow White. After all, the original 1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was Disney's very first animated feature, and thus it casts a long shadow over the company's output ever since. Then again, perhaps Snow White's status as the textbook Disney Princess fairytale is why Disney has been hesitant to bring it to live-action.

The original Snow White is a landmark entry in the world of animated movies and is perhaps Disney's signature production. So many aspects of Snow White influenced Disney movies that followed, so living up to its legacy will be challenging. Yet, that is exactly what today's Disney team will now attempt to do with its upcoming live-action Disney's Snow White, a project that already looks set to both pay tribute to the classic tale while also making notable alterations. Like almost every adaptation of an animated classic, the upcoming live-action Snow White remake from Disney has already gained a lot of attention and a fair share of controversy.

Related How Rachel Zegler's Live-Action Snow White Costume Compares To Animation A first look at Rachel Zegler's Snow White look has been revealed, and here's how it compares to the one in Disney's animated classic.

The Latest Live-Action Snow White News

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The delay was believed to be caused by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, though it may have also been an opportune decision to move the film's release date due to controversies.

The most recent news on the highly-anticipated live-action movie came in October 2023 when it was confirmed by that the live-action Snow White remake has been delayed. The Rachel Zegler Snow White movie had originally been pegged for a 2024 release, but the premiere has now been set for March 21, 2025, just one day shy of a year later. The delay was believed to be caused by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, though it may have also been an opportune decision to move the film's release date due to controversies.

Snow White Returns In 2025

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The release date for Disney's Snow White is March 21, 2025. The Rachel Zegler Snow White remake had originally been set for a March 22, 2024 release, but this was delayed in late 2023 due to the SAG-AFTRA strikes.

The SAG-AFTRA strike was resolved on November 9, 2023.

Disney's Live-Action Snow White Cast

Rachel Zegler Stars As Snow White

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Disney's live-action Snow White remake cast hasn't been fully announced, but Rachel Zegler will star as Snow White. While Zegler is still a rising name, adding some bigger star power to the Snow White cast is Gal Gadot, who is set to play the Evil Queen. Playing a villain inspired by an animated character, and being a villain, has allowed Gadot to play around with her acting style more than usual. Gadot has even explained in interviews that she's changed her voice for the role.

Broadway star Andrew Burnap will portray a new love interest character named Jonathan, who is described as Robin Hood-esque. Martin Klebba —a veteran of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise — will play Grumpy. Martin Klebba has actually appeared in multiple Snow White adaptations in the past including 2012’s Mirror, Mirror, and 2001’s Snow White: The Fairest Of Them All.

The confirmed cast of the live-action Snow White includes:

Actor Snow White Role Rachel Zegler Snow White Gal Gadot The Evil Queen Andrew Burnap Jonathan Ansu Kabia The Huntsman Martin Klebba Grumpy

Related Why Disney Princesses Can Never Acknowledge Each Other Whenever the members of the Disney Princess franchise are grouped together, they never look at each other, and there's a reason for that.

The Snow White Live-Action Controversies Explained

Fans Are Divided Over The Live-Action Remake

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Images that were taken by press during the filming of the movie have kicked off some live-action Snow White casting controversy as many of those who have seen the images were less than happy. The pictures, which featured what looked like Snow White and the seven dwarfs, caused an uproar among some fans. The images actually featured Rachel Zegler’s stand-in and seven actors of various genders and ethnic backgrounds as Snow White’s seven dwarfs. The bulk of the backlash was levied at Disney for not casting people of smaller stature in the seven dwarf roles as well as Zegler, who is of Colombian descent, being cast as Snow White.

Zegler has found herself in the middle of controversy again because of her comments about the modernization in the new movie. At D23 in September 2022, Zegler explained to the press that she believed the live-action movie brought Snow White out of the conventions of the past to become a woman that could be a leader and didn’t need a prince to save her. For some fans, the implication is that Snow White didn’t have value as a Disney Princess without becoming a leader, or that dreaming of true love isn’t something a young woman should do, and they’ve taken issue with that.

The Live-Action Snow White Story

A Classic Tale With Modern Sensibilities

In Snow White, the princess is targeted by her stepmother because of her vanity. Snow White is beloved and termed "the fairest of them all" by a magic mirror. The Evil Queen sends a huntsman after Snow White, who ends up escaping into the woods and living with seven dwarfs who mine gemstones. When the queen eventually tracks her down, a poisoned apple sends Snow White into an enchanted sleep that can only be awakened by true love's kiss.

The Rachel Zegler Snow White story will be made much more in line with modern sensibilities for Disney's live-action remake. Snow White will no longer be a helpless damsel in distress needing to be saved by a handsome prince's kiss. In fact, she will go to battle alongside Jonathan, her love interest for the movie. There is not much currently revealed about the story, but many of its more iconic aspects are expected to remain largely the same. However, following the criticism of past portrayals of dwarfism in Snow White adaptations by Peter Dinklage, Disney said the seven dwarfs will be getting an overhaul.