Disney is currently in production on a live-action adaptation of the iconic story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, but actor Peter Dinklage is not a fan of what he calls a “backwards” idea.
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Speaking during a recent appearance on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast, Dinklage said that Disney’s recent praise over the casting of Latina actress Rachel Zegler to play the role of Snow White is great, but the actor was taken back over the fact that the company was even going forward with the film.
“Literally no offense to anyone, but I was a little taken aback when they were very proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White, but you’re still telling the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” Dinklage said. “Take a step back and look at what you’re doing there. It makes no sense to me.”
Dinklage went on to say that while the company was being progressive in one way, they were still telling a “backwards” story about seven dwarfs who live in a cave.
“You’re progressive in one way, but then you’re still making that f—ing backwards story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together, what the f— are you doing, man?” said Dinklage. “Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soapbox? I guess I’m not loud enough. I don’t know which studio that is, but they were so proud of it. All love and respect to the actress and all the people who thought they were doing the right thing. But I’m just like, what are you doing?”
Following Dinklage’s remarks, a Disney spokesperson said the following in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter:
“To avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film, we are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community. We look forward to sharing more as the film heads into production after a lengthy development period.”
Disney’s upcoming live-action adaptation of Snow White will be based on the studio’s first animated classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs that debuted over 80 years ago and started Disney’s success with animated films. It was also inspired by the 1812 German fairy tale written by the Brothers Grimm.
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Snow White has been in development since 2016, with La La Land and The Greatest Showman duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul attached to write new songs for the adaptation. Set to be directed and produced by Marc Webb from a screenplay by Erin Cressida Wilson, the project is expected to expand the story and music from the original. Production is set to begin in 2022.
This project is part of Disney’s growing list of upcoming live-action projects including The Little Mermaid, Hercules, Pinocchio, and Peter Pan & Wendy along with sequels to The Lion King, Aladdin, and the recently released Cruella.
