- The full Snow White trailer has debuted online
- Disney’s new live-action film is coming in Spring 2025
- Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot to star
The 1938 Walt Disney animated classic Snow White is getting the live-action treatment and it’ll be available to watch sooner than you think.
Plans for the film were revealed back in 2016. The Hollywood Reporter broke the news, linking Erin Cressida Wilson to the role of screenwriter.
In 2019, (500) Days of Summer’s Marc Webb was tipped as the director. Two years later, Barbie screenwriter Greta Gerwig was added as co-screenwriter.
This move to bring Snow White to life comes after similar efforts on previous Disney hits. A string of beloved titles from the vault has proven incredibly popular with audiences. Examples of real-world runaway hits for the House of Mouse include The Lion King, Beauty and The Best and The Little Mermaid.
Based on the Brothers Grimm fairytale, Snow White was the world’s first-ever feature-length animated film. What do we know about this new version? Read on to find out…
When is the live-action Snow White being released?
The film is set to be released in America on 21 March 2025. This makes it one of spring’s most hotly anticipated releases.
It is expected to be on screens in the United Kingdom on the same date. It was supposed to be released in 2024 but it was delayed. This was attributed to the SAG-AFTRA strikes in 2023.
Is there a live-action Snow White trailer?
The first full trailer for Disney’s live-action Snow White landed in early December and invited us into a familiar fairytale world.
In it, we got a better look at Zegler’s Snow White and Gadot’s Evil Queen alongside the colorful Disney world created by Webb. It doesn’t take long for the movie’s main stars to arrive, with all seven animated miners getting ample air time.
Meanwhile, an early teaser for the live-action Snow White dropped it back in August. Watch it below:
It featured the first taste of the updated versions of beloved songs like Whistle While You Work. You can also see how the film was meant to be a homage to the source material. Much of the costuming was inspired directly by the cartoon version.
In November 2024, the full trailer for the movie was released before screenings of Wicked Part One.
Who is starring in the live-action Snow White?
The titular character will be brought to life by Rachel Zegler. The casting was confirmed in 2021 after displaying her musical theatre chops. Zegler had wowed audiences and critics as Maria in Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story.
While chatting to Extra, Rachel shared that the princess would be notably “stronger” than before. Along with this, she has also spoken out about the backlash about a Latina actress playing the role.
In 2022, Andrew Burnap was given the role of Jonathan, a new identity for The Prince role. His past credits include the miniseries Under The Banner of Heaven and WeCrashed.
Gal Gadot was announced as the Evil Queen in 2021. After playing roles such as Wonder Woman, Gadot praised this change of pace, saying it is one of the most creatively daring roles she’s tackled so far.
Somewhat controversially, only one actor, Martin Klebba, will play Grumpy while computer-animated images will form Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Happy, Sleepy and Sneezy. A move that was met with a thumbs down from many.
He has garnered a reputation for taking on similar parts as he has done the honours in many a Snow White adaptation. These include Snow White: The Fairest of Them All, a 2001 made-for-TV movie and Mirror, Mirror in 2012.
There was much backlash to this decision. A leading voice was the Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage. He has spent much of his career advocating for performers with Dwarfism, including himself.
On a podcast, he called Snow White a “backward story of seven dwarfs living in a cave together.”
What other controversy has it faced?
A lot has been made about the two leading ladies conflicting beliefs on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Gadot is a noted supporter and citizen of Israel. Some people and institutions, such as BDS, have called for a boycott of the film for this alone.
However, Zegler has shared opposite views. She took to social media to say “and always remember, free Palestine” after the trailer was released.
When did filming take place?
Filming was due to begin in March 2020 but was delayed by COVID-19 lockdowns. It was then rescheduled to start in Vancouver in July of that year. However, it was later moved to August 2022. They then also swapped shooting locations from Canada to the UK.
Disaster struck again when a fire broke out in Pinewood Studio in March of that year. It was then pushed back further by Zegler’s required attendance at the Oscars. However, Gadot started production on her scenes.
Shooting wrapped in July of that year. More was carried out in June 2024.
What is the plot of Snow White?
Disney has remained tight-lipped about plot details but the cast has been open about some of the ways it differs from the original. For starters, Gadot shared that she will be singing her own songs. This is interesting because the 1938 edition doesn’t feature any songs for her character.
Zegler has also made great effort to point out how it will be de-centring the love story. She dubbed this move “wonderful”.
She’s also detailed how “nervous” all the CGI has made her.
Beni Pasek and Justin Paul were brought on board to write new songs for the film. They are no strangers to Disney live-action remakes as they worked on new material for the studio’s live-action Aladdin in 2019.
