Earlier this week, Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage slammed Disney’s upcoming Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs live-action remake on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast, and now, Disney has responded to the actor’s criticisms.
After praising the casting of West Side Story star Rachel Zegler, Dinklage told Maron: “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 there. It makes no sense to me. You’re progressive in one way and you’re still making that fucking backwards story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together, what the fuck are you doing man? Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soapbox? I guess I’m not loud enough.”
However, in a statement given to The Hollywood Reporter, a Disney spokesperson attempted to clarify how the studio is addressing the larger issue of the way the original film portrays disabled people.
“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 film heads into production after a lengthy development period,” a Disney spokesperson said.
The Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs live-action remake is set to be directed by Marc Webb, director of 500 Days of Summer, which features a script worked on by Greta Gerwig, with songs by the La La Land team of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. The film is set to star Zegler opposite Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen.
