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New Snow White star defends proposed changes to Disney movie

Rachel Zegler, who will play Snow White in the upcoming live-action Disney movie, says that the updates are needed, and will be refreshing

Disney's Snow White

The live-action Disney movie Snow White filmed over the spring and summer in London, starring West Side Story’s Rachel Zegler in the titular role. Gal Gadot plays the Evil Queen and Andrew Burnap plays Jonathan (who could be the prince or the huntsman or another character, depending on how much it twists the story). There has been speculation about how Disney will handle the dwarves, with prominent figures such as Peter Dinklage weighing-in on the subject.

Zegler, who is Colombian-American, has also come under scrutiny due to her race and also wanting to reimagine the concept of the Disney Princess; “I think it’s possible to be a princess and a hero. I like to be both.” Surely, it should go without saying that the point of making a live-action remake 85 years after the original animated version is to update it?

Speaking to Vanity Fair, Zegler said; “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.”

We’ve already had a different take on the character in 2012’s Snow White and the Huntsman, in which Kristen Stewart played an armour-clad warrior who rides into battle brandishing a sword.

The production of the new Snow White hasn’t gone entirely smoothly, as a fire broke out in the studios, burning a thatched cottage. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

So far, the Disney live-action remakes have stayed pretty faithful to the source material. The upcoming The Little Mermaid has cast Halle Bailey in the title role, which has provoked some racist backlash. Other upcoming titles include David Lowery’s Peter Pan & Wendy, Barry Jenkins’ The Lion King 2, and Guy Ritchie’s Hercules.

While we wait to hear more about the upcoming remakes, check out our guide to the best Disney movies.