‘Snow White’ Star Rachel Zegler Speaks Out, Leaves Franchise

Rachel Zegler, who is best known for the waves she has made as Snow White in Disney’s live-action film, recently spoke out about a major decision.

Rachel Zegler, an emerging talent in Hollywood, catapulted into the spotlight with her breakout role as Maria in West Side Story (2021). Despite having no prior professional acting experience, Zegler’s raw talent and vocal ability captured the attention of director Steven Spielberg, who cast her as the lead in his reimagining of the classic musical. Zegler’s portrayal of Maria earned her critical acclaim and quickly established her as a promising young talent in the industry, earning her roles in several major franchises.

While the biggest of these is undeniably Disney’s Snow White (2025), where she plays the titular princess and has seen a fair share of controversy, Zegler also recently starred as Lucy Gray Baird in Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (2023). The film, which saw her star alongside Tom Blyth (Young President Snow), grossed $337.4 million at the box office this past December.

In addition, Zegler was also set to star in the Paddington franchise. However, it was revealed several months ago that the actress would no longer be a part of the franchise. As Paddington 3 began filming, it was during the midst of the SAG-AFTRA strike. As a result, Zegler relinquished her role. Recently, she spoke with Collider about the decision to leave the franchise behind.

“I was a part of Paddington 3, but I’m not anymore because of the SAG strike. They were able to continue filming, but I was the only SAG actor, and another talented actress is doing it. “I’m very excited to see because it was a wonderful script and I think Paddington fans are going to be very thrilled.”

While Zegler won’t be starring in Paddington 3, she did play Laura in Y2K (2024), replacing Jenna Ortega due to scheduling conflicts.

“It was so fun to read because I like when things go a little differently than you expect. It’s so fun to read stuff like that on the page and then see it come to life on a screen, both while you’re filming it and then when you see the finished product. You really think it’s a very coming-of-age, these two kids are gonna own New Years, [then] midnight strikes and things go a little differently than you think they’re gonna go. It was really fun to read. It was so different than anything I had read before, and certainly different than anything I had ever done before, so it was just an immediate yes.”

Will Disney still release its live-action version of Snow White?

While Rachel Zegler has numerous projects on the horizon, none are more prominent than Disney’s Snow White (2025).

The film, originally supposed to be released this past March, was delayed by a full year to March 21, 2025. While there have been multiple reasons reported for the delay, including the SAG-AFTRA strike, the backlash surrounding the movie was undeniable. As Rachel Zegler spoke about the upcoming film alongside Gal Gadot nearly two years ago, she shared that it “was not 1937 anymore” and that this “would not be a love story.” Instead, there actually won’t even be a prince in this version, as the lead male character, played by Andrew Burnap, will be called Jonathan.

Since that wave of backlash, Rachel Zegler has been much more careful about her comments about the film. In a feature piece with Variety, Zegler called the Disney princess “iconic” and said that she realizes this is important to many fans.

“The cartoon is so beloved. It was the first feature-length cartoon movie. It won honorary Oscars. And all these amazing things that happened for that film are the reason that you and I get to sit here today, because it made Disney what it is. Obviously, that’s come with a lot of pressure that I’ve put on myself,” Zegler said.

Disney, on the other hand, has taken the “silent” approach. Other than releasing a first look when it announced that the film would be delayed, the company has steered clear of making any sweeping statements about the movie. Disney still plans to release the film in 2025, and during its October press release, the company was quick to note that the movie would include Dopey, Grumpy, Sneezy, Bashful, Happy, Sleepy, and Doc.

Marc Webb is the director of the film, and Marc Platt is the producer. The movie also includes original songs from Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.

At this time, Disney has not released any new information on the upcoming film.

What do you think of these comments from Rachel Zegler? 

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