Disney’s Live-Action Snow White Casts Rachel Zegler In Title Role

Disney’s live-action Snow White adaptation has found its lead in West Side Story‘s Rachel Zegler. According to Deadline, Zegler — who is now filming DC Films’ Shazam! Fury of the Gods — will play the title character in the live-action Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Amazing Spider-Man‘s Marc Webb is directing the film. He says, “Rachel’s extraordinary vocal abilities are just the beginning of her gifts. Her strength, intelligence and optimism will become an integral part of rediscovering the joy in this classic Disney fairytale.” Marc Platt is producing the project. Academy Award-winning duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul are working on songs for the movie. Filming should begin on the feature in 2022.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, based on the Brothers Grimm story, was Disney’s first animated feature film, a landmark for cinematic history, and a huge success for the studio. Reports suggest the live-action remake will add to the film’s story with an expanded narrative and new music. Development on the project has been slow-going reportedly due to executives wanting to be sure Pasek and Paul have all the time they need to perfect their new songs.

This is the latest in a series of live-action remakes of Disney’s animated classics. The live-action Aladdin earned more than $1 billion worldwide for Disney. The Lion King followed, grossing $1.63 billion worldwide. A live-action remake of The Little Mermaid is now filming. During a 2017 interview with Vulture, Disney’s president of production Sean Bailey credited Walt Disney Studios Co-Chairman and Chief Creative Officer Alan Horn with Disney’s push to re-imagine and adapt its catalog of animated classics.

“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.”

What do you think of Zegler playing live-action Snow White? Let us know in the comments. You can see her in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, opening on December 10th, and then again in Shazam! Fury of the Gods, opening in 2023.