Rachel Zegler will be playing Disney’s live-action Snow White who tries to run away from an Evil Queen envious of her beauty only to meet a group of seven dwarfs willing to help her. But just like differences came from Kristen Stewart’s Snow White having her in battle armor, the Disney live-action remake will be making some changes of their own away from the 1937 version. The 22-year-old actress talks about one big way her Disney princess character will differ from the animated version we’ve grown up with.
The version of Snow White audiences are used to focuses on a young girl hoping a handsome prince will rescue her from the clutches of her envious stepmother, the Evil Queen. It looks like we’re going to get a more modern update of the first Disney Princess as Rachel Zegler spoke to Collider about how different her version of Snow White will be.
Then something that kind of emerged was this leader within her that I was so happy that the writers wanted her to be, and the fact that it’s born out of her upbringing, but she finds it within herself throughout the course of the film and throughout the people that love her in the film and show their love for her.
I’m curious to know what kind of leadership role this version of Snow White will be partaking in. Could she be going into battle like in Snow White and the Huntsman or something less extreme? The first time she talked about her Disney character at last year’s D23 Expo, Zegler's comments received backlash saying that Snow White will not be “saved” by the Prince or dreaming about sharing her life with him. Instead, her goal in the upcoming Disney remake will be to become a leader. People must have been very used to that animated Disney Princess that we were first introduced to so long ago that they didn’t want any changes to occur in the remake. But, I’m assuming these modifications are for the purpose of telling young girls today that they don’t need to dream about a Prince rescuing them to feel whole.
It’s true that in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, we were introduced to a sweet, yet delicate girl. Based on the West Side Story actress’s accounts, it looks like her character will get a personality change more modern than the 1937 princess. As she shared:
There’s a couple of scenes in there where she’s speaking like someone who’s been alive for much longer than she has, and that’s something that I relate to, something that I’ve been told all my life.
Based on what Zegler is saying, Snow White could possibly be an example of a woman with a personality beyond her years, who is knowledgeable about life than those around her. Considering Snow White lost both of her parents so young and dealt with the abuse of her stepmother, it's understandable. For those who are giving backlash towards the character changes taking place in Snow White, many Disney remakes make modern updates from their originals to pertain to today’s audiences. For example, in the live-action Cinderella movie, the relationship between Cinderella and Prince Kit is more developed before she goes to the ball where they strike up a friendship first.
The Beauty and the Beast remake made a key change to Belle as well in having her be an inventor like her father to create inventions that give her the time to explore her passion for reading. Halle Bailey explained that her role as Ariel in The Little Mermaid is updated to be more than her wanting to leave the ocean just for a boy. That she wanted to be on land to discover herself. All of these Disney remakes put a modern spin on things to give young audiences today new role models to look up to with updated messages.
The focus of Rachel Zegler’s title character in Snow White is apparently focused on being a leader and has the personality of a woman way before her time. If you’re curious how different this Disney Princess will be from the one you’re used to, you can watch the upcoming Disney movie in theaters on March 21, 2025.
