Every liberty being taken and every change being made to the original Snow White (1937) film seems to be a step in the wrong direction. There are so many controversies attached to the upcoming remake’s name that you’d probably need a guide to keep track of all of them!
It would be bad enough at that, considering that Disney’s live-action remakes have been lukewarm at best and devastatingly bad at worst, but it seems that the film’s leading lady has made things more difficult recently.
But to sum it up, Rachel Zegler, the leading lady bringing Snow White to life, recently commented on the original Snow White film, which rubbed many fans the wrong way. In one interview, Zegler admits that she found the original Snow White frightening as a child, saying she “watched it once and never picked it up again.”
In another interview, Zegler describes some changes being made to the upcoming remake, stating, “it’s no longer 1937.” She continued, saying that Snow White wasn’t “going to be saved by the prince. And she’s not going to be dreaming about true love. She’s dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be.”
The actress also spoke about the original Snow White film during the D23 Expo, saying that the original Prince Charming was “a guy who literally stalks [Snow White].” She continued, saying:
We have a different approach to what I’m sure a lot of people will assume is a love story just because we cast a guy in the movie…All of Andrew [Burnap’s] scenes could get cut, who knows? It’s Hollywood, baby!
Andrew Burnap is playing a character named Jonathan, who will take the original Prince Charming’s place.
Although Zegler’s collection of comments has alienated fans of the original story, it’s done something even worse: alienated the director.
Marc Webb, the director behind The Amazing Spider-Man films starring Andrew Garfield, is at the helm of the upcoming live-action Snow White film. According to one report, Webb is “furious” at Rachel Zegler’s comments and all of the damage they’ve been doing from a public relations and marketing standpoint.
Mike Zeroh, a YouTuber focusing on all of the Walt Disney Company’s hot gossip, claims that Marc Webb is frustrated with Zegler for her comments and overall attitude while working on set. The YouTuber states:
The main reasoning behind this is that he wasn’t all that happy about Rachel joking around about how Andrew Burnap – who, by, the way, is the main male lead – could easily get cut from the film because ‘that’s Hollywood baby…’ Webb reportedly really had a big issue with that line of dialogue.
Not only that, but Rachel Zegler reportedly had issues with the romance between Snow White and the Prince Charming replacement, going as far as “wanting to water [it] down” according to Inside the Magic’s report.
Aside from Snow White, Zegler may have made things even more difficult by disparaging Webb’s Amazing Spider-Man films, which are widely regarded as some of the worst live-action Spider-Man films ever made.
As this year’s D23 rapidly approaches, we wonder what shape the live-action remake is in right now. Will we get to see a trailer during this year’s D23 Expo? Or will we receive even more bad news regarding the film’s status? At this point, it’s anyone’s guess, and we can only wait and see.
