'Snow White' Star States Demands from Disney to Play Iconic Princess

Rachel Zegler was an unknown talent until last year when she starred as the legendary character, Maria, in Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed West Side Story remake (2022). This notoriety elevated her opportunities with a prominent role in Shazam: Fury of the Gods (2023). Currently, she is set to star as Disney’s first ever princess, Snow White, in a live-action reimagining. However, Zegler has now used her fame to put a “poison apple” in Disney’s punch bowl as she recently went over what conditions she deserves to receive from Walt Disney Studios, if she is to be one of their iconic Disney princesses.

Zegler’s starring role as Snow White will be an adaptation of Disney’s first animated feature film that debuted in 1937. It was based off the 1812 folktale created by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, also known as the Brothers Grimm. The success of this film would prompt the company to adapt other public domain fairytale stories like Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty.

Many of the original stories were dark in tone and violent in imagery, so Disney’s adaptations became more lighthearted and family-friendly. The reinvention of these animated classics have come full circle as Disney is now reinventing their reinventions of adapted content. Disney has been feeding off the controversy of their remakes as the upcoming Snow White has created quite the dispute on social media, like with the recent live-action The Little Mermaid (2023). Here are some of the noticeable changes to the original 1937 story.

• Snow White will no longer have fair skin, but have a more olive-skinned complexion.
• Snow White will no longer be concerned with finding love, but rather be a community  leader.
• The seven Dwarfs will no longer be Dwarfs, but magical creatures that will be multi-racial, multi-gendered and vary in height.

While this version of Snow White has put the film off to a contentious start with some fans, Disney’s socially progressive revisions always bring needed attention to their brand. However, the tea is now spilling on Disney by Zegler, who has become one of the leading voices for the Actors (SAG) strike. She recently sent a fierce message while out on the picket line stating, “If I’m gonna stand there 18 hours a day in the dress of an iconic Disney princess, I deserve to be paid for every hour that it’s streamed online.”

Her latest requirement has added to Snow White’s social drama, but it has also put an even brighter spotlight onto the Walt Disney Company. Especially after Disney CEO, Bob Iger responded to both strikes as “not realistic” and “unreasonable.” These comments have not been received well by Hollywood or its supporters.

Zegler is certainly using her platform and her clout as the next Disney princess to serve as an example of what unionized actors desire in the future. It will be interesting to see if her demands will be met, but if Iger can bestow himself with a $27 million salary, perhaps there is room to pay their artists their residuals from streaming.

Snow White is still slated for a March 22, 2024 release date.

What do you think of Zegler’s comments? Are you excited for the new Snow White reimagining?