Disney's Live-Action Snow White Casts Gal Gadot as Evil Queen
Gal Gadot is trading in Wonder Woman's Lasso of Truth for an evil crown. The Red Notice star is preparing to take on the role of the Evil Queen in Disney's live-action adaptation of Snow White. Deadline reports Gadot is in the final stages of negotiations on Snow White, where she would join Rachel Zegler as the titular protagonist. Sources state Disney had been circling Gadot for a villainous role in the film, and Gadot was reportedly intrigued by playing a live-action version of a Disney villain, similar to Angelina Jolie and Cate Blanchett before her. Based on the Brothers Grimm story, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs premiered in 1937 as Disney's first animated feature film.
The news of Zegler's Snow White casting came down in June. The film is directed by Marc Webb (Amazing Spider-Man), and Marc Platt is producing. Filming is expected to begin in 2022, as it looks to join Disney's growing list of live-action adaptations. Previous entries include Aladdin and Lion King, with The Little Mermaid currently filming. Disney's president of production Sean Bailey spoke to Vulture in 2017, where the subject of re-imagining Disney's classic catalog came up.
"We were given an incredible opportunity to discover what we wanted to be as a live-action team. We were given a lot of latitude to think about what that was," Bailey said. "We thought if Iron Man and Thor and Captain America are Marvel superheroes, then maybe Alice, Cinderella, Mowgli, and Belle are our superheroes, and Cruella and Maleficent are our supervillains. Maybe if there's a way to reconnect with that affinity for what those characters mean to people in a way that gets the best talent and uses the best technology, that could become something really exciting. It feels very Disney, playing to the competitive advantages of this label."
"Rachel's extraordinary vocal abilities are just the beginning of her gifts," Webb said of Zegler's casting. "Her strength, intelligence and optimism will become an integral part of rediscovering the joy in this classic Disney fairytale."
Gadot's next project to reach audiences is Netflix's Red Notice on November 12th, which also stars Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds. Aside from Wonder Woman, Gadot will play another familiar figure in Paramount's Cleopatra, reuniting her with Wonder Woman and Wonder Woman: 1984 director Patty Jenkins.