It's been confirmed that Rachel Zegler will be playing our new Snow White in the forthcoming Disney live-action remake. Director Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man 1 and 2) will be putting a new spin on Disney's masterful 1937 animation, one that forever changed the possibilities of the genre.
Zegler will soon be appearing in another remake: West Side Story, directed by Steven Spielberg. The Indiana Jones helmer is putting his own twist on the Oscar-winning 1961 musical, itself adapted from the Broadway smash by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim. Zegler will be playing Maria, one half of a tragic, star-crossed pairing (Baby Driver's Ansel Elgort completes the union as Tony).
"Rachel’s extraordinary vocal abilities are just the beginning of her gifts," says Webb. “Her strength, intelligence and optimism will become an integral part of rediscovering the joy in this classic Disney fairytale."
Written off as a folly prior to its release, the original Snow White alerted the Hollywood film industry to the possibilities of feature-length animation. It helped Disney transition from short cartoons like Steamboat Willie (1929) into conceptually and visually ambitious stories that drew on the nature of classic fairy tales.
So epochal was the release of the film that during the 1938 Oscars ceremony, young actor Shirley Temple presented Walt Disney with an honourary Oscar, plus seven 'dwarf' statuettes.
Word has it that the La La Land and The Greatest Showman duo of Pasek & Paul will be writing all-new songs for the Snow White remake. Production is due to begin in 2022. In conjunction with Snow White, Disney's upcoming remake of The Little Mermaid has also made a bid for diversity by casting singer Halle Bailey in the title role of Ariel.
Zegler will also appear as one of a trio of villains in DC's upcoming Shazam! Fury of the Gods, which is due for release in 2023.
What do you make of Zegler's casting as Snoe White? Let us know @Cineworld.
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