What did Peter Dinklage say about Snow White remake? Game of Thrones star’s comments - and Disney response
This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement.
Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage has called out Disney over its upcoming Disney live action movie out - and who is in the cast with actress Rachel Zegler?">Snow White and the Seven Dwarves live action remake.
Dinklage, who is currently starring in the musical drama Cyrano, directed by Joe Wright (Atonement, The Woman in the Window), shared his views on the reboot in an interview with Marc Maron on his podcast.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThis is what you need to know - and how Disney responded to his comments.
What did Peter Dinklage say about Disney’s Snow White remake?
Dinklage, best known for his role as Tyrion Lannister in Games of Thrones, discussed the new Snow White film whilst on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast.
He said: “There’s a lot of hypocrisy going on I’ve got to say.
“No offense to anything but I was a little taken aback by [the fact] they were very proud to cast a Latino actress as Snow White, but you’re still telling the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad“They were so proud of that, and all love and respect to the actress and the people who thought they were doing the right thing but I’m just like, “what are you doing?”
“Take a step back and look at what you’re doing there. It makes no sense to me.”
Dinklage continued, calling the company out for supposedly championing diversity with its casting of Latina actress Rachel Zegler as Snow White - but then going on to perpetuate harmful stereotypes of characters with dwarfism.
He said: “You can be progressive in one way but you’re still making that f**king backwards story of the seven dwarves living in the cave.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad“What the f**k are you doing man, have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soapbox? I guess I’m not loud enough.”
Dinklage, who has a form of dwarfism called achondroplasia, has long been vocal about the treatment and representation of dwarfism in Hollywood.
In the past he has said that making dwarfism a “dominant character trait” was “bad writing”.
Has Disney responded?
In response to the actor’s comments, Disney has said that it is “consulting with members of the dwarfism community” in regards to its live action Snow White film.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThe company said it was taking guidance in order to “avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film”.
A spokesperson for Disney said: “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.”
Who is in the new Snow White cast?
Rachel Zegler has been confirmed for the role as Snow White, who made her film debut last year as Maria in Steven Spielberg’s big screen adaptation of the musical West Side Story.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdIt has also been announced that Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot will play the Evil Queen.
Speaking about the role, Gadot said: “Well, first of all, I’m excited about the fact that this is, like, an iconic character.
“I’m excited to create an iconic villain character in my own voice.
“I’m very, very, very excited and looking forward to playing the Evil Queen.”
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdNew songs will be written for the film by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, a songwriting and composing duo who have won Academy Awards for their original songs - most notably La La Land’s song City of Stars.
The film will also be written by Erin Cressida Wilson (The Girl on the Train, Secretary) and directed by Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer, The Amazing Spider-Man).
Aside from the central roles being played by Zegler and Gadot, there has been no further casting announcements, which includes the characters of the dwarves.
There is no release date yet for the live action adaptation, with the film still in the pre-production stage of its development.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdIt’s believed that filming is expected to take place in the UK in March later this year, which could place the release date for the film around late 2023.
A message from the editor: Thank you for reading. NationalWorld is a new national news brand, produced by a team of journalists, editors, video producers and designers who live and work across the UK. Find out more about who’s who in the team, and our editorial values. We want to start a community among our readers, so please follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and keep the conversation going. You can also sign up to our newsletters and get a curated selection of our best reads to your inbox every day.
Comment Guidelines
National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.