No, Disney hasn’t said how it will depict dwarfs in new ‘Snow White,’ as Peter Dinklage slams remake

Disney hasn't said anything about if and how it will cast actors to play the seven dwarfs in its live-action remake of 'Snow White.'

As “Game of Thrones” actor Peter Dinklage noted in a new interview, Disney seemed eager to earn plaudits for casting Latina actress Rachel Zegler as Snow White in its planned live-action remake of its animated classic, but  has been silent on the casting of the other central characters of the story, the seven dwarfs.

In its focus on diversifying its slate of Disney Princess characters, Disney has said nothing about the fact that the traditional Snow White story features a cast of seven dwarfs, a point Dinklage stressed as he called the idea of a remake “(expletive) backwards.”

“There’s a lot of hypocrisy going on,” Dinklage said in an interview on Marc Maron’s “WTF” podcast, which dropped Monday. “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 (expletive) backwards story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together, what the (expletive) are you doing, man?” Dinklage continued. He added in a half joking way: “Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soap box? I guess I’m not loud enough.”

Disney hasn’t said anything about what it is doing with the dwarfs in its new “Snow White” movie. The focus of its press announcements has been on casting Zegler, the breakout star of “West Side Story,” as the beautiful, beleaguered princess. Disney also announced in November it had signed “Wonder Woman” star Gal Gadot to play her evil stepmother queen.

Disney’s original “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” was released in 1938. Based on the Brothers Grimm fairytale, it was Disneys’ first animated feature film and became a massive success for the studio, Deadline reported.

Insiders told Deadline that the new live-action feature, due to start production this year, will “expand upon the story and music from the original.” Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, the Oscar- and Tony-winning duo behind “La La Land,” “The Greatest Showman” and “Dear Evan Hansen,” will write new songs for the movie, Deadline said.

Deadline added that Disney took its time in finding the right actress to play Snow White. Disney has also taken its time in making sure “to get the music right.”

But it’s not known whether Disney is taking the same kind of time in considering how to update the story so that it truly reflects 2022 ideas about diversity and representation. So far, the only cast members officially attached to the film are Zegler and Gadot, according to IMDB.

Variety reported that the studio has offered no information on if and how it will cast actors to play the seven dwarfs, who take Snow White in and protect her from her evil stepmother.

Dinklage told Maron he would be excited if Disney were to retell the fairytale with “a cool or progressive spin on it,” but he remains skeptical over how that could happen with just re-telling the traditional “Snow White” story in live-action form.