Disney Responds To Peter Dinklage’s ‘Snow White’ Criticism, Says It Will ‘Avoid Reinforcing Stereotypes’

Disney has addressed Peter Dinklage’s criticism of its upcoming live-action remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which the actor called a “fucking backward story.”

A company spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter:

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.

Disney’s statement follows Dinklage’s comments on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast:

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 — but you’re still telling the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Take a step back and look at what you’re doing there. It makes no sense to me. You’re progressive in one way, but then you’re still making that fucking backward story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together? What the fuck are you doing, man? Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soapbox? I guess I’m not loud enough.

Snow White will be played by West Side Story star Rachel Zegler, with Gal Gadot playing the Evil Queen. The film will be directed by Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man) and produced by Marc Platt (Disney’s upcoming The Little Mermaid).

The film will feature new songs by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, whose credits include La La Land and The Greatest Showman. The duo also penned “Speechless,” a song in the 2019 Aladdin remake, together with Disney veteran Alan Menken.

The Snow White remake has spent a long time in development: the project was first confirmed in 2019. The Hollywood Reporter notes that Disney has been reimagining the dwarf characters since the earliest stages.