Trailer for live action Snow White drops – with the usual suspects complaining that it’s ‘woke’

In what will probably come as a surprise to absolutely no one, some people are angry over the live-action Snow White trailer for being “woke.”

On Tuesday (3 December), the first look at Disney’s live action Snow White dropped, providing internet trolls with brand new material to complain about, from Rachel Zegler’s casting to the film’s removal of the original prince character.

The upcoming remake of the 1937 animated classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which was based on the 19th-century fairytale by the Brothers Grimm, has been facing backlash from the “anti-woke” brigade ever since the project was first announced. 

Directed by Marc Webb, the latest iteration of the classic story will follow Gal Gadot’s villainous Evil Queen as she sets out to kill Snow White (Zegler). The trailer sees the princess run away into the forest and meet the seven dwarfs who promise to help keep her safe.

Alongside the inclusion of Zegler’s vocals, the trailer shows the narrative departure from the classic tale.

In the original, the Evil Queen cursed Snow White with a poisoned apple, she fell into a death-like slumber and was awakened from her trance by Prince Charming, however this new iteration sees the princess return to the castle to fight back against the Queen.

Furthermore, in Webb’s story, the character of the Prince who awakens Snow White with true love’s kiss is entirely absent, prompting cries of misandry and “male erasure” from the type of people who have posters of Andrew Tate on their walls.

Amongst those whining about the ‘woke’ trailer, many are calling for a boycott and seem to be directly targeting Zegler for their dislike of the project. 

“Snow White was never a badass character lol” one commenter wrote in reaction to the trailer. 

Another replied: “Can’t wait to NOT watch this.”

“I’m sorry, but isn’t Snow White supposed to be the most beautiful in their universe?.. what is this mess,” a different account commented on a post showcasing the film poster. 

“Calling it now, this is going to be THE MOST controversial movie of 2025. Altering a key element that makes Snow White, Snow White, is that woke nonsense I didn’t need in a near perfect Disney classic,” continued yet another person.

Zegler’s casting has been criticised, with people saying a Latina actress of Colombian descent should not play a character who was originally written as having “skin as white as snow.”

During Variety’s Actors on Actors, Zegler was sat with Andrew Garfield when she shared: “Never in a million years did I imagine that this would be a possibility for me.

“You don’t normally see Snow Whites of Latin descent, even though Snow White is a big deal in Spanish-speaking countries. 

“Blanca Nieves is a huge icon whether you’re talking about the Disney cartoon or just different iterations and the fairytale and all the stories that come with it. But you don’t particularly see people who look like me, or are me, playing roles like that. 

Zegler has also pointed out that the original depiction of Snow White is rooted in anti-feminist sentiment and that the new story will showcase a new side of the Disney princess. 

“It’s no longer 1937,” Zegler said at the Disney D23 Expo in September. “We absolutely wrote a Snow White [who is] not going to be saved by the prince.

“She’s not going to be dreaming about true love. She’s going to be dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be, and that her late father told her that she could be if she was fearless, fair, brave and true.”

Snow White arrives in cinemas on 21 March 2025.