Actor Rachel Zegler recently sat down with Vanity Fair to discuss her recent success as well as upcoming projects.
Zegler most recently starred as Maria in Steven Spielberg's Oscar-winning film adaptation of West Side Story, and over the course of the next two years, we will see her in leading roles in 2024's Snow White as well as in the Hunger Games prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, and Shazam! Fury of the Gods out next year.
In her interview with Vanity Fair, Zegler addressed criticism Snow White has received due to its being "too PC."
"People are making these jokes about ours being the PC Snow White, where it's like, yeah, it is-because it needed that."
"It's an 85-year-old cartoon, and our version is a refreshing story about a young woman who has a function beyond 'Someday My Prince Will Come.'"
Unfortunately, her attempt to clarify summoned even more discourse, with many wondering why finding true love is seen as a negative aspect of the original film.
\u201c@VanityFair https://t.co/28Ta5YiPiZ\u201d— VANITY FAIR (@VANITY FAIR) 1665771136
\u201c@VanityFair How is it a "refreshing story" when the current narrative is all about being against the concept of 'someday my prince will come'? \ud83e\udd74\u201d— VANITY FAIR (@VANITY FAIR) 1665771136
\u201c@BoundingComics I don\u2019t really see what\u2019s wrong with dreaming about finding love? Of course it\u2019s not a good idea to have that be the ONLY trait, but you could say that abt anything. It\u2019s never a good idea to have just ONE trait for a character. That\u2019s doesn\u2019t make it an invalid trait though.\u201d— Bounding Into Comics (@Bounding Into Comics) 1665675175
\u201c@BoundingComics What is this...problem...with love? What's so wrong with romance?\u201d— Bounding Into Comics (@Bounding Into Comics) 1665675175
\u201c@BoundingComics What is so wrong about fairytale romance to these people?\u201d— Bounding Into Comics (@Bounding Into Comics) 1665675175
Many are also wondering if the film should even be named Snow White given the changes to vital pieces of the original narrative.
\u201c@BoundingComics So they just put the name on a different story?\u201d— Bounding Into Comics (@Bounding Into Comics) 1665675175
\u201c@BoundingComics Sounds good.....but why not make it an original story with different characters rather then taking something we all liked growing up and changing it. Don\u2019t attach a classic movie we love to it.\u201d— Bounding Into Comics (@Bounding Into Comics) 1665675175
\u201c@BoundingComics If you aren't going to adapt Snow White, don't put Snow White in the title. They've basically changed everything that matters in the tale to the point it isn't that take anymore. It's a new story, so just go with that and make a new story... why are they such cowards?\u201d— Bounding Into Comics (@Bounding Into Comics) 1665675175
\u201c@BoundingComics Disney, just make a different movie. This sounds like it could be its own thing, no point in altering the Snow White story until it\u2019s unrecognizable.\u201d— Bounding Into Comics (@Bounding Into Comics) 1665675175
Snow White has also received criticism from actor Peter Dinklage who calls out the one-sided progressivism of the film on a recent WTF podcast.
"Literally no offense to anyone, but I was a little taken aback when they were proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White-but you're still telling the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."
"Take a step back and look at what you're doing there. It makes no sense to me."
"You're progressive in one way, but you're still making that f*cking backward story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together?"
In response, a representative from Disney stated:
"To avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film, we are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community."
"We look forward to sharing more as the film heads into production after a lengthy development period."
@PreetBharara/X
@RepBrendanBoyle/X
@twesq/Bluesky
@christopherharris/Bluesky
@evangelinewarren/X
@FrankC164/X
AMC