‘Snow White’ unveils first teaser: What to know about live remake

Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest remake of them all?
Director Marc Webb’s “Snow White,” a live-action adaptation of the 1937 classic “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” is set to hit theaters this coming spring. A teaser trailer for the musical fantasy dropped online Saturday.
The film, which stars “West Side Story” actress Rachel Zegler as the iconic Disney princess, has already made waves with its bold reimagining of the animated children’s movie — including its depiction of Snow White’s diminutive companions, the Seven Dwarfs.
Zegler, who is of Colombian and Polish descent, has also come under fire for her ethnic contrast from the original title character.
Here’s everything you need to know about the controversial film.
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Disney unleashed the first teaser trailer for the live-action remake at D23 Fan Expo on Friday (and released the trailer online Saturday).
The nearly minute-and-a-half trailer gave fans a chilling look at Snow White’s archnemesis, the Evil Queen, played by Gal Gadot. The “Wonder Woman” star sneered with pride as she stood before her magic talking mirror.
Also seen in the clip were the Seven Dwarfs, who in one scene danced along with Snow White as she sang the classic song “Whistle While You Work,” originally sung by voice actress Adriana Caselotti.
Despite a previous statement from Disney about “taking a different approach” with its depiction of the dwarves, the characters appear to share a similarly small stature as the original Seven Dwarfs.
The new “Snow White” will be released March 21, 2025.
The “Snow White” teaser divided fans on social media, with some sharing their excitement for the remake and others blasting the film’s modern take on the original film.
“Watching this trailer gave me the same chills as seeing Halle Bailey as Ariel in The Little Mermaid!😱😍” @BELLA_SNOWDEN wrote on X. “Seeing a Latina Snow White means the world to me and having Rachel Zegler play her takes it to another level!”
“It’s a mockery of the seven dwarfs. Like, the people behind making it really hate the original classic and are actively doing their best to destroy it,” X user @BadGhostTv wrote. “The greatest animated film of all time desecrated to the Disney relentless agenda.”
“This is going to be incredible,” @M00fins wrote on X.
“She’s too tan to be Snow White,” X user @lltoowelltv wrote. “We need someone as white like Hayley Williams (to be honest) 😭.”
Whistle while you ‘woke’?Some people are grumpy about the live-action ‘Snow White’ movie
Zegler’s casting as Snow White was announced in 2021 and sparked backlash due to the actress’s nonwhite skin tone, with detractors complaining that in the original Brothers Grimm fairy tale, Snow White is described as being “white as snow.”
Zegler addressed her casting in a January 2022 Variety interview with actor Andrew Garfield.
“You don’t normally see Snow Whites that are of Latin descent, even though Snow White is really a big deal in Spanish-speaking countries,” Zegler said. “Blanca Nieves is a huge icon whether you’re talking about the Disney cartoon or just different iterations and the Grimm fairy tale and all the stories that come with it.”
Online critics also took issue with Zegler’s past comments about Snow White, including a statement in which the actress likened the cartoon prince’s pursuit of Snow White to stalking.
In July 2023, production photos leaked that appeared to show a diverse group of actors playing the reconceived Seven Dwarfs, drawing even more ire online. Fox News commentator Tomi Lahren reposted a Daily Mail article with the headline “Snow White and the Seven … Politically-Correct Companions?”
David Hand, whose father was one of the original film’s directors, also expressed animosity toward the remake in an August 2023 interview with The Telegraph, calling the project a “disgrace.”
“Walt (Disney) and (David Hand Sr.) would be turning in their graves,” Hand said. Disney is “just so radical now. They change the stories, they change the thought process of the characters. They’re making up new woke things and I’m just not into any of that. I find it quite frankly a bit insulting (what) they may have done with some of these classic films.”
Contributing: Patrick Ryan and Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY