It’s no secret that Disney has found some critical but much commercial success with their live-action adaptations of animated classics. But these film adaptations help introduce a new telling of an old story to a young generation. And in a way, it is a great way to introduce the animated original to them as well.
As a part of their live-action panel, Sean Bailey shared a few new looks at the studio’s live action slate that the D23 Expo, which included a first look at the upcoming live-action adaptation of Snow White. The film stars West Side Story breakout Rachel Zegler as the title character and Gal Gadot playing the Evil Queen.
“Snow White is the girl you remember but she’s definitely made for the modern age and there’s such an emphasis on what it really means to be the fairest of them all and for Snow White,” Zegler said. “It’s coming to terms with finding herself and finding her inner voice and finding a sense of agency so that she can be a just ruler and and a wonderful queen.”
“Because there’s another one in town,” she quickly added before pointing to Gadot.
“It was first of all for me. It was very different from anything that I’ve ever done before. I’m used to play the other end of that,” Gadot said after a career of playing heroes. “She is the first and most iconic villain in the world and stepping into her shoes and getting under her skin was so powerful. It was so great and working with such an amazing cast members like Rachel and Andrew [Burnap] and [director] Mark Webb and our entire team was amazing.
“We’re really excited for the incredible technology that we’ve incorporated into the film also just the new music that has been added the new music that’s written by Benji Passak and Justin Paul,” Zegler said of the production process. “It’s just been the most incredible process to make it and most of the time when we’re making it we have no idea what it’s going to look like so I’m excited to see it and I feel like I’m on the wrong side of the stage and that I shouldn’t be just pinching myself so I can’t wait to share it with you because as a huge Disney fan like all of you. The biggest dream come true I could possibly imagine for myself and thank you all for making it possible.”
It certainly sounds like everyone had a fun time. Though the footage they showed was relatively short, it featured a few iconic sequences that most of us should already be familiar with, like the cottage and Snow White falling, with the camera focused on her hand as the poisoned apple rolls away from it.
Written by Greta Gerwig and Erin Cressida Wilson, Snow White opens in theaters in 2024.
