Walt Disney Pictures has remade many of its classic animated films in recent years into live-action movies, but there’s one upcoming project Peter Dinklage believes they should stay away from.
Disney’s live-action adaption of the 1937 film “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” drew waves last summer when the studio tapped Latina actress Rachel Zegler to star in the titular role. But it’s the premise of the movie in modern days, not the casting decision, that has Dinklage raising eyebrows.
The “Game of Thrones” actor, who has a form of dwarfism, did not agree with Disney’s decision to make a new version of the film.
“Literally no offense to anyone, but 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,’” Dinklage said in a recent episode on the “WTF with Marc Maron” podcast. “Take a step back and look at what you’re doing there. It makes no sense to me.”
Disney has not revealed many plot details of the upcoming movie. Starring opposite Zegler will be “Wonder Woman” herself, Gal Gadot, who will play the Evil Queen in the reboot.
Production is slated to begin this year, Us Magazine reported. It’s unclear how the movie will include the dwarfs, which some people deemed offensive in retrospect of the original film.
“You’re progressive in one way and you’re still making that f—ing backwards story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together. What the f— are you doing man?” Dinklage said.
He suggested Disney make the film as progressive as possible, but did not offer a way regarding how the studio can incorporate the seven dwarfs in a politically correct way.
“Have I done nothing to advance the cause?” Dinklage said in jest.
Dinklage has famously refused to play roles in which his height is mocked or used as a stereotype. Despite that, he said in a 2019 New Yorker article he is not politically correct about his condition.
“I don’t really care. I think that can be damaging as well,” he told The New Yorker.
He said on Maron’s podcast he is not politically correct “because I get to make fun of myself.”
The “Snow White” remake follows a long list of live-action movies Disney has made off its successful animated films. The studio has already made live-action flicks for “Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin,” “The Jungle Book” and “Mulan,” among others.
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