No magic mirror needed: Disney has found its Snow White for the upcoming live-action adaptation of the animated classic.
Rachel Zegler, the 20-year-old Colombian American star of Steven Spielberg’s upcoming “West Side Story,” has been cast as Disney’s inaugural princess and will star in the remake of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves,” according to Deadline.
The latest in a long line of live-action adaptations of beloved Disney properties will be helmed by “500 Days of Summer” director Marc Webb and produced by Marc Platt, with production slated to kick off next year.
“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,” Webb said in a statement.
“well… hello to a dream come true,” Zegler wrote alongside a screenshot of the Deadline announcement of her casting.
Footage of Zegler in “West Side Story,” which will hit theaters in December after a year-long delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, apparently “blew everyone away and helped in pushing the decision across the finish line,” Deadline reports.
Zegler was one of 30,000 Latinx actors who submitted video auditions for Spielberg’s retelling of “West Side Story,” and she landed the coveted role as Maria when she was just a 17-year-old high school senior.
Other studios have tried their hand at adapting “Snow White” for the big screen, with varying degrees of success. Two takes on the Brothers Grimm fairytale, “Mirror Mirror” and “Snow White and the Huntsman,” which respectively starred Lily Collins and Kristen Stewart as the fairest of them all, both hit theaters in 2012, with the latter spawning a Snow White-less prequel titled “The Huntsman: Winter’s War” four years later.
But Disney has long had its eye on bringing “Snow White” to a new generation, as the original film, which was released 90 years ago, was its inaugural animated feature film and became a massive success story for the studio.
This new version will reportedly “expand upon the story and music” with the help of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who previously teamed up for the live-action “Aladdin” remake and films like “La La Land” and “The Greatest Showman.”
Zegler is on quite a run as of late, recently booking a key role in Warner Bros.’ “Shazam!” sequel, “Shazam! Fury of the Gods.”