Pirates Of The Caribbean Star Confirms Role In Live-Action Snow White Film as Grumpy

While the upcoming, live-action adaptation of Disney’s Snow White may not actually include the Seven Dwarfs that the fable and animated film are known for, it appears the magical creatures of the film’s world will fill similar roles. In a video recorded at Denver’s Fan Expo, Pirates of the Caribbean franchise actor Martin Klebba revealed that he will be playing the film’s version of Grumpy. The revelation came in a brief promotional video for the fan convention, where the actor was holding a stuffed Grumpy plush and standing in front of his booth. 

Gal Gadot, who plays the film’s central antagonist, also wrapped recently, suggesting production is nearly complete. Little is known about the changes that have been made to the original narrative, except that they will likely be more significant than other Disney live-action reimaginings have been. 

Back in January, Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage blasted the movie, calling it a “f–king backwards” depictions of dwarfs and adding “what the f–k are you doing man?.” Since Dinklage took the movie to task in an interview with the WTF Podcast, Disney has released a statement about his comments and the movie’s continued development, noting they’re hoping to “avoid reinforcing stereotypes” and “and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community.” Now a new update on the film reveals Disney won’t be using dwarfs in the film at all.

The Amazing Spider-Man and (500) Days of Summer director Marc Webb is attached to helm the film with Zegler set to play the title role and Gal Gadot playing the new version of the Evil Queen.

“It’s an iconic cartoon, it’s 85 years old, and Marc Webb, our director, is so dedicated to making a hero princess for his daughter,” Zegler told the Associated Press. “I really love that sentiment and I hope it get echoed for all eternity when we make live-action versions of these Disney cartoons, where women are seen as a little bit less than the male characters. I think it’s possible to be both a princess and a hero, and I like to be both.”

You can see Klebba’s video below (h/t DisInsider).

Disney’s original Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs premiered in 1937 and established the studio as the name to beat in the animation game. In the last decade or so, many of the studio’s animated classics have been getting live-action reinventions, possibly as a way of continuing to generate new revenue from old IP as the home video (VHS/DVD/Blu-ray) model of the past disappears.

This adaptation comes not long after a pair of movies from Universal that saw Kristen Stewart take on the role in Snow White and the Huntsman, which also went the direction of making the story very action-driven and very mystical.