Rachel Zegler has certainly had her share of ups and downs in the entertainment industry. Though she's best known for playing Snow White in this year's live-action remake, her breakout role came in Steven Spielberg's 2021 West Side Story remake. She also starred in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes in 2023, which was a box office hit.
However, since landing the titular role in Disney's Snow White (2025), Zegler has faced challenging times. The film’s mixed critical reception and poor box office performance, combined with the backlash against Zegler’s casting and some of her remarks about the original 1937 animated film, have made her a household name for all the wrong reasons.
Rachel Zegler Strikes Back
But while Snow White suffered devastating blows on both sides of its release, Zegler's career is far from over. In the months since the film's release, she has shown resilience and has taken on another major role with her portrayal of the iconic character in the West End revival of Evita, which has been met with more favorable reviews than the Disney remake.
The question now is whether Zegler can reclaim her status in movie theaters.
But if there's one franchise that needs her talent and charisma, it's Star Wars. Whether or not Disney would cast her in another one of its big franchises after Snow White‘s disastrous box office performance ($205.7M against an estimated budget of $240–270M) is another matter. That said, the film has found plenty of viewership success on Disney+.
Either way, Zegler has already proven her love for the faraway galaxy. In an interview with CinemaBlend earlier this year, where she and Snow White director Marc Webb took part in a Disney Princess pop quiz, Zegler was surprised to learn that Leia Organa is now considered Disney royalty as much as the likes of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty.
She even jokingly does an impression of Han Solo, quipping, “Who's scruffy-looking?”
You can watch the video, titled “Get this girl into a Star Wars movie,” below:
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Fans Call for Zegler to Appear in Star Wars
The interview led to fans express their desire to see Zegler in the Star Wars universe (the title of the video is the biggest giveaway). One fit could be the iconic role of Leia, who was played by the late Carrie Fisher in the original trilogy and the sequel trilogy.
Fans responded to the video to note how perfect Zegler would be in Star Wars. One said that they “might actually watch Star Wars if Rachel stars in it.” Another wrote, “I WANT HER IN STAR WARS OMGGGG.” “Rachel is the Leia to my Han Solo,” another said.
She Could Bring A New Hope to the Franchise
There's no denying that Star Wars has experienced a lot of turbulence in recent years, with the likes of the sequel trilogy and live-action shows such as The Book of Boba Fett (2021) and The Acolyte (2024) failing to impress fans. A versatile actress like Rachel Zegler, who wields charisma like it's the Force, could bring a breath of fresh air to the franchise.
Her versatility as an actress also makes her a prime candidate for a role like Princess Leia. While she hasn't been officially linked to Star Wars, the Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023) star has previously expressed her own interest in joining the iconic saga.
Last year, in response to a potential Star Wars: What If…? series on Disney+, Zegler responded to rumors of her involvement on X (Twitter) by poking fun at the “Somehow, Palpatine returned” scene from Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (2019)–which has long become an Internet meme–by fan-casting herself as the character Shara Bey, the late mother of Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) who has appeared in the Star Wars comics.
Zegler noted that Shara Bey’s ship, RZ-1, shares her initials, saying, “As a fan of the [Star Wars] comics, I would like to throw my hat in the ring to voice Shara Bey, mother of Poe Dameron, because her ship was an RZ-1 (my initials!) for green squadron.”
Rachel Zegler was also previously fan-cast as the character Ahsoka Tano, who was introduced in the animated film The Clone Wars before becoming a recurring character in the animated series of the same name, in Rebels, and in the live-action series, Ahsoka.
While both the CinemaBlend interview and her tweet amount to nothing more than some light-hearted fun, Zegler has proven that she can step into the shoes of iconic characters, especially Disney Princesses.
And given her obvious affection toward Star Wars, as well as her ability to bring depth, nuance, and gravitas to complex roles, she could very well be the next actress to take on the mantle of Princess Leia in future Star Wars projects.
So here's hoping Disney will give her the chance to bring another princess to life for a whole new generation.
Snow White is now streaming on Disney+.
Would you like to see Zegler play Princess Leia in Star Wars? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below!
No way! Will not see Rachel Zegler in anything. If others want to, great, each to their own feelings.
I love Star Wars but I will not watch it if she is in it. I will not watch anything she is in. I think there are a lot of people who feel the way I do. She is the reason the new Snow White movie bombed. One would think that Disney would catch on as to why their latest movies etc are losing money. Instead of WWJD they need a mantra that says WWWD (What would Walt do).