‘Snow White’ Hollywood Premiere To Be “Scaled Back” Amid Ongoing Backlash

Usually, a studio tries not to acknowledge when there are controversies surrounding a project, but Disney is proving not to be naive in the case of its upcoming live-action adaptation of Snow White. The film has been at the center of various discourses since it was first announced, and it has only grown with even more controversies involving its leading ladies, Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot. Seeing that not much can be done to defuse the negative word of mouth, Disney has made an incredible decision to not go full-on Hollywood with the film’s premiere.

Per Variety, despite the film still hosting a Hollywood premiere on March 15, it will be without the normal bells and whistles that go along with a movie of this stature. The premiere will consist of a pre-party and screening taking place at the El Capitan Theatre with Zegler and Gadot on deck to attend. What will be noticeably missing are the red-carpet press, who would usually be on hand to get interviews with the cast and other creatives behind the film. Disney will only be hosting coverage of a limited number of photographers and a house crew.

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While Disney isn’t openly discussing why the Hollywood premiere has been scaled back, it’s not hard to tell their reasoning behind wanting to minimize the number of interviews that could take place surrounding the film.

Much of the turmoil started when Zegler was cast as the titular character, something that sparked an unnecessary backlash from toxic Disney fans who questioned why a Latina actress was taking on the role. To defend herself, the actress spoke out against the toxicity by calling the 1937 animated film “dated” and elaborated by saying, “She’s not going to be dreaming about true love. She’s dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be.” She also stated that, in the original film, the prince “literally stalks Snow White,” and, unfortunately, Zegler’s response did not quell the complaints.

The Live-Action ‘Snow White’ Has Seen Controversy Since it was Announced

Politics has also played a part in the backlash. Gal Gadot spoke up about the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7 on her social media accounts, and that was met with its fair share of criticism. The actress is Israeli, and has been known to be an outspoken voice about Israel and the ongoing war. On the other hand, Zegler has promoted “free Palestine” on her social media. This has led to speculation over whether the differing stances have led to a rift between the pair, which would certainly have been a main subject of press questions if the premiere had gone ahead as normal.

Another aspect of the film that has garnered controversy has been the movie’s portrayal of little people and Disney’s willingness to perpetuate negative stereotypes. Peter Dinklage, during an appearance on the WTF With Mark Maron podcast, took the film to task for this by saying, “Literally no offense to anything, but I was sort of taken aback. They were very proud to cast a Latino 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 here.” Disney was quick to comment after Dinklage’s podcast appearance by saying:

“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.”

Whether this all affects the film’s box office remains to be seen, but first projections for the film’s opening weekend have not been extremely positive. Should reviews be stellar, Disney will likely have another big hit on their hands despite all the turmoil that has followed the production. Certain projects are immune to these controversies and the familiarity of the story might bring out an audience no matter how much toxicity surrounds it. One thing that is certain, however, is that Disney is very aware of the many elephants in the room.

Source: Variety

Disney’s Snow White Family Fantasy Release Date March 19, 2025 Director Marc Webb Writers Erin Cressida Wilson, Greta Gerwig Producers Callum McDougall, Marc Platt Cast See All Rachel Zegler Snow White Gal Gadot Evil Queen Andrew Burnap Jonathan Martin Klebba Grumpy

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