A rumor claims that The Walt Disney Company and Rachel Zegler’s Snow White film is “a mess” and is “testing poorly.”
Rachel Zegler via Good Morning America YouTube
This latest rumor comes in the wake of scooper Daniel RPK allegedly claiming the film is being praised and that the movie was “doing something different with the poison apple.”
Cosmic Marvel reported on a scoop from Daniel RPK writing on X, “Disney’s ‘SNOW WHITE’ is reportedly doing something different with the poison apple. The film was also praised for being great.”
Cosmic Marvel on X
EmpireCity Box Office refuted this report writing, “I actually can refute this Daniel RPK report. As I said months ago that it was it was in trouble before they moved it back a year, it actually is testing poorly and those involved don’t have much hope for it. The film is a mess and not working despite reshoots.”
EmpireCityBO on X
In October 2023, EmpireCity Box Office posted, “Was going to hold back on this as it seems to have a narrative, but just bad timing. Hearing that 4 big budget films are all either disasters about to happen or need extensive work to save them. The Marvels, Snow White, Madame Web, and Ballerina all not working / need major help.”
EmpireCityBO on X
The Walt Disney Company delayed the release of Snow White an entire year from March 22, 2024 to March 21, 2025 at the end of October last year. The Hollywood Reporter’s Pamela McClintock alleged at the time that the delay was due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike.
However, a new report from The Daily Mail at the beginning of November 2023 alleged that the film was delayed because Disney is “figuring out what to do.”
An anonymous source told the outlet, “Disney had to delay Snow White because they have spent so much money on it, and if it is a financial disaster at the box office, it might single handedly cripple future remakes and potential Snow White sequels that they have planned.”
“They also have to remove themselves from the bad taste in the mouths of online critics and want to instead deliver a great film and get to a point where they get it right,” the source continued.
The Evil Queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Walt Disney Productions
“They realize that they were overthinking things and are now reigning it all in a little bit more,” the source asserted. “They just need some time to figure it all out – plus we are still dealing with the strikes.”
The insider went on, “It is a perfect storm right now, but they are embracing change and anticipate it all to work out and exceed expectations. The work starts now.”
“They also had to delay the movie because they not only have to make it as best as they can, but there are a lot of toys that they have to prepare, so they need the dwarves and the rest of the characters to look exactly like who they are supposed to be,” the source alleged.
Snow White in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Walt Disney Studios
The film was lampooned throughout 2023 after comments made by Rachel Zegler in September 2022 at D23 resurfaced and revealed how Disney and screenwriter Greta Gerwig planned to completely change the film from the original 1937 animated release.
Zegler derided the film describing it as dated, denigrated the prince as a stalker, and took umbrage with the film’s love story. Zegler also made it clear the film would be changing the definition of fair and discarding the moral lesson vanity, and would be reinterpreted as a sense of justice. She also detailed how the movie would be about an inner struggle of Snow White as she desired to become a good leader.
Rachel Zegler as Maria in 20th Century Studios’ WEST SIDE STORY. Photo by Niko Tavernise. © 2021 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
She told Extra TV, “The original cartoon came out in 1937 and very evidently so. There’s a big focus on her love story with a guy who literally stalks her. Weird. Weird. So we didn’t do that this time.”
After being asked about the Prince, she said, “We have a different approach to what I’m sure a lot of people will assume is a love story just because like we cast a guy in the movie, Andrew Burnap, great dude.”
She continued, “It’s one of those things that I think everyone’s going to have their assumptions about what it’s actually going to be, but it’s really not about the love story at all, which is really, really wonderful. And whether or not she finds love along the way is anybody’s guess until 2024. All of Andrew’s scenes could get. Who knows? It’s Hollywood, baby!”
“It’s an inner journey that she goes on to find her true self. And she meets a lot of people along the way that make the journey really incredible,” she concluded.
Zegler would go on to make similar comments to Variety informing the outlet, “I just mean it’s no longer 1937, and we absolutely wrote a Snow White–”
Wonder Woman actress Gal Gadot, who is playing the Evil Queen, then asserted, “She’s not gonna be saved by the prince.”
Zegler concurred, “She’s not gonna 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 leader that her late father told her that she could be if she was fearless, brave, and true. And so it’s just a really incredible story for, I think, young people everywhere to see themselves in,” she concluded.
To Entertainment Weekly, Zegler stated, “The reality is that the cartoon was made 85 years ago and therefore it’s extremely dated when it comes to the ideas of women being in roles of power and what a woman is fit for in the world. And so when we came to reimagining the actual role of Snow White it became about the fairest of them all meaning who is the most just. And who can become a fantastic leader.”
“And the reality is, you know, Snow White has to learn a lot of lessons about coming into her own power before she can come into power over a kingdom,” Zegler shared.
Gadot also said, “Also the fact that she’s not going to be saved by The Prince and she’s the proactive one and she’s the one who set the terms is what makes it so relevant to where we are today.
Not only did Zegler and Gal Gadot indicate the film was going to be radically different from the original animated film, but the movie also drew heavy criticism when The Daily Mail published images from the Snow White set that revealed a number of actors that looked nothing like the dwarfs from the animated film. The outlet alleged the actors were indeed replacements for the original seven dwarfs from the animated film.
Is Disney planning to reshoot the film because we literally went from ambiguous magical persons back to seven dwarfs.
Did Disney come to their senses? #SnowWhite pic.twitter.com/yODtDUlL9Y
— Vince Salerno (@Thebigv75) October 27, 2023
Not only did the movie draw criticism, but Disney found themselves sending out mixed messages. A Disney spokesman told The Daily Beast, “The photos are fake and not from our production. We are currently trying to have the Daily Mail issue a correction.”
The Daily Mail would update their article with a statement, “This article has been amended since initial publication to correctly identify the actress portraying Snow White as an extra who stood in for post-production photography. Disney confirm[ed] that stand-ins were used for both Rachel Zegler and Andrew Burnap in these images. We are happy to clarify this point.” Of note, they did not issue a correction regarding the stand-ins for the seven dwarfs.
Rachel Zegler via Variety YouTube
The Independent would then publish another statement from a Disney spokesman, “The images that ran [in the Daily Mail] are not official film photos. These show stand-ins for some talent and do not feature Rachel Zegler or Andrew Burnap.”
Given Disney spokesmen were sending different messages to different outlets, it’s not hard to imagine that the film is testing poorly and the production is a mess.
The Seven Dwarfs in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Walt Disney Studios
What do you make of this latest rumor regarding Rachel Zegler’s Snow White?
It’s a shame they changed back to the CGI dwarves. The seven dirty Portlanders is so undeniably on brand for Disney’s 2020 era that it should be preserved. This would only get funnier to look back at.
I figure Bentkey pushed back their movie to simultaneously release with Disney, but that’s kinda a bummer to have to wait