
2024 was shaping up to be a monumental year for Snow White fans, with two vastly different adaptations of the classic fairy tale initially set to hit screens. Disney’s highly-anticipated live-action remake, starring Rachel Zegler, was poised to debut alongside Snow White and the Evil Queen, a conservative reimagining of the story from The Daily Wire featuring Brett Cooper in the title role.
With both films targeting a 2025 release, audiences were bracing for a cinematic face-off between two starkly contrasting visions of the beloved princess.
But as with all fairy tales, there’s been a twist.
Disney recently pushed its Snow White release to March 21, 2025, and not without stirring controversy. Fans got their first look at Zegler as Snow White alongside CGI-rendered dwarfs—an artistic choice that sparked backlash from all sides. Originally rumored to swap out the dwarfs for “magical creatures,” this pivot came after Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage criticized the studio’s choice to remake the 1937 movie.
However, his remarks drew mixed responses, with some members of the dwarfism community challenging his stance.
The decision to cast Rachel Zegler also ignited heated debates. Much like Halle Bailey’s casting in 2023’s The Little Mermaid, Zegler’s Latina heritage became a focal point of online ire. Compounding the discourse, Disney announced a reimagined backstory for Snow White. No longer tied to her “skin as white as snow,” the name now symbolizes resilience, rooted in a childhood snowstorm she survived.
“It fell back to another version of Snow White that was told in history, where she survived a snowstorm that occurred when she was a baby,” Zegler shared with Variety. “The king and queen decided to name her Snow White to remind her of her resilience. One of the core points in our film for any young woman or young person is remembering how strong you actually are.”
While the empowering message aligns with Zegler’s outspoken advocacy for modernized princess narratives, her comments from the D23 Expo in 2022 reignited the “woke” culture wars. At the time, she criticized the 1937 classic’s portrayal of Snow White’s relationship with the prince.
“She’s not going to be saved by the prince, and she’s not going to be dreaming about true love,” Zegler said (via The New York Post). “She’s dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be… if she was fearless, fair, brave, and true.”
Unsurprisingly, these remarks fueled backlash. Enter The Daily Wire, which announced its own adaptation, Snow White and the Evil Queen, during Disney’s centennial celebrations in October 2023. The conservative studio promised a faithful retelling of the story.
“It’s a story about a princess and a prince, about beauty and vanity, about love and its power to raise us from death to life,” said Daily Wire co-founder Jeremy Boreing, per The Hollywood Reporter. “We know we aren’t what Disney is today, but we hope in time we might become what they were, once upon a time: a little studio with big ideas and the courage to chase them.”
However, that ambition has been dealt a serious blow.
In December 2024, Brett Cooper announced her departure from The Daily Wire and thus her role as Snow White. Addressing rumors of a falling out, Cooper clarified to her fans on The Comments Section that it was “her own choice to leave.” Boreing echoed her sentiments, calling her exit “sad.”
Despite speculation, her decision seemingly marks the end of The Daily Wire’s Snow White project—or at least its initial iteration. Cooper also unfollowed several Daily Wire personalities on social media, signaling deeper fractures.
Reports suggest Cooper clashed with the studio over the creative direction of Snow White and the Evil Queen. According to Niche Gamer, “The Daily Wire reportedly wanted to add a bunch of subplots with the purpose of triggering leftist viewers, though those subplots were not in the original Snow White tale.
Brett Cooper on the other hand wanted her Snow White film to be apolitical, a faithful retelling of the original tale that could be appreciated by conservatives, apoliticals, leftists, and everyone in-between.”
Now, Cooper is forging her own path with The Brett Cooper Show, which officially launches on January 30, 2025. Despite leaving millions of subscribers behind at The Daily Wire, she’s already garnered over 730,000 followers for her new venture.
Meanwhile, Disney is moving full steam ahead with its reimagining. Directed by Marc Webb and penned by Greta Gerwig and Erin Cressida Wilson, the film boasts an all-star cast, including Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen, Andrew Burnap, and Martin Klebba, with music from the acclaimed Dear Evan Hansen songwriting duo, Pasek and Paul.
Which version of Snow White were you most excited to see? Let us know in the comments!