Disney has responded to the harsh criticism by Emmy-winning actor Peter Dinklage about the studio’s upcoming live-action remake of ‘Snow White’.
The ‘Game of Thrones’ actor had spoken out on Monday’s episode of Marc Maron’s podcast, where he blasted the upcoming film, based on the 1937 animated classic, calling it a ‘backward story’.
The studio issued a statement to The Hollywood Reporter that the film isn’t in response to Dinklage’s criticism.
“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,” the statement read.
Still years from release, ‘Snow White’ will have cultural consultants, just like other live-action films such as ‘Aladdin’ and ‘Mulan’.
The film has been in development for three years; the studio has been reimagining the dwarf characters since the earliest stages, as per The Hollywood Reporter.
Marc Webb’s directorial live-action reimagining of ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ will feature Rachel Zegler in the titular role and Gal Gadot as the villainous Evil Queen. Tony Award winner Andrew Burnap will also star.
Dinklage didn’t hold back on his criticism of the project in the podcast, saying: “Literally no offence 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.”
The ‘Game of Thrones’ alum continued: “You’re progressive in one way, but then you’re still making that [expletive] backward story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together? What the [expletive] are you doing, man? Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soapbox? I guess I’m not loud enough.”
The statements made by Dinklage made headlines within a few hours of being aired.
The studio has not announced a release date yet for the live-action version of ‘Snow White’.
