Ever since rising star Rachel Zegler (Shazam! Fury of the Gods, West Side Story) made some comments about Disney's Snow White that certain corners of the internet deemed unforgivable, rumors have been springing up that the actress has either been fired or replaced as the lead in the upcoming live-action remake.
They're nonsense, of course, but every so often, a "reputable" site or semi-reliable Twitter account will share something that gains a bit of traction, and that's exactly what happened with a "rumor" which claimed that Jenna Ortega (Wednesday, Scream) had stepped in to play Snow White in Zegler's absence.
Entertainment site Inside The Magic shared the rumor, but the ever-reliable TheDisInsider.com has done some digging and debunked the report.
Unfortunately, it can tend to be a case of damage done once these things get enough attention, and a lot of people who took issue with Zegler's comments will likely spread this as fact.
The main criticisms seem to stem from the actress admitting that she wasn't a big fan of the original animated movie as a kid (because it scared her), and only watched it all the way through recently. Zegler also pointed out that some aspects of the animated classic haven't really aged very well, noting that certain plot points - including the "stalker Prince" - have been updated for a modern audience.
“I just mean that it’s no longer 1937,” Zegler said in a recent interview. “We absolutely wrote a ‘Snow White’ that … she’s not going to be saved by the prince, and she’s not going to be dreaming about true love; she’s going to be dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be and that her late father told her that she could be if she was fearless, fair, brave and true.”
Snow White is helmed by The Amazing Spider-Man director Marc Webb, and is expected to expand upon the 1937 animated classic's story. The movie will feature new songs by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (La La Land and The Greatest Showman), and will also feature Wonder Woman star Gal Gado as the Evil Queen, and Andrew Burnap as a new character named Jonathan.
The actors for most of the seven... non-dwarfs have not been announced, but we do know that Martin Klebba, who has been in all the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, will play Grumpy.
It's also been confirmed that the movie will include a younger take on Snow White, which suggests that we will get some kind of flashback scenes that will expand on the origin of the title character.
What did you guys make of the rumor? Or is this the first you're hearing of it? Would you prefer to see Jenna Ortega as Snow White instead of Rachel Zegler? Drop us a comment down below.
Snow White is scheduled to hit theaters March 22, 2024.