Disney's Live-Action Snow White Won't Feature Dwarves 'To Avoid Reinforcing Stereotypes'

The Snow White reboot will reimagine seven of its main characters and is reportedly taking 'a different approach' to the classic Disney story.

While Peter Dinklage applauded the casting of West Side Story's Rachel Zegler in the role of Snow White for the remake of the 1937 original, the Game of Thrones actor expressed how 'taken aback' he was by Disney's decision to reboot Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in the first place.

However, on Tuesday, January 25, in response to the 52-year-old's comments, Disney explained that the reboot would 'avoid reinforcing stereotypes'.

Dinklage, who has a form of dwarfism called achondroplasia, previously called out the reboot as 'f*cking backwards'.

He said: 'Literally no offence to anyone, but I was a little taken aback when they were very proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White. You're still telling the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Take a step back and look at what you're doing here. It makes no sense to me.'

The actor explained that while the casting of Zegler was 'progressive in one way', Disney was still choosing to make 'that f*cking backwards story about seven dwarves living in a cave together'. 'Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soapbox? I guess I'm not loud enough,' he told Marc Maron on his WTF podcast.

Disney has since responded to the actor's concerns, saying the reboot would be 'taking a different approach,' The Wrap reports.

It stated: '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 films heads into production after a length development period.'

Subsequently, instead of the seven characters being portrayed as dwarves, they are now anticipated as being substituted for 'magical creatures', and the studio is currently looking for voice actors to play them.

The reboot is currently in production, and is being directed by Marc Webb. Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot will also feature alongside Zegler, in the role of the Evil Queen. The film's songs have been written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who have previously worked on La La Land.

A date has not yet been set for the remake's release.

Featured Image Credit: Disney/Allstar Picture Library Ltd/Alamy

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