Hollywood studio Disney has responded to criticism of Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage’s upcoming live-action remake of the classic animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Dinklage, best known for playing Tyrion Lannister on the HBO show Game of Thrones, recently came down heavily on Disney for the decision to remake the film, which he called “backward.”
In its response to the actor, Disney said it was going to “avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film”.
“To avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film, we are taking a different approach with these seven characters and consulting with members of the Dwarf community.
“We look forward to sharing more in the making of the film after a long development period,” a Disney spokesperson said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
Directed by Mark Webb, the rebooted version will star Rachel Ziegler of West Side Story fame alongside Gal Gadot, essaying the role of the Evil Queen.
It was during an interview on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast that Dinklage offered his thoughts on the remake of Snow White.
“No offense to anyone really, but I was a little surprised when they were so proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White, but you’re still telling the story of ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ ,” Dinklage, 52, said.
“Take a step back and see what you’re doing there. It doesn’t make sense to me,” he said.
Peter Dinklage, who was born with a common form of dwarfism called achondroplasia, specifically criticized the studio for trying to present a “backward” story of “seven dwarves living in a cave”.
“You’re kind of progressive, but still you’re making that f***ing backwards story about seven dwarves living together in a cave, what the f**k are you doing, man? What I haven’t done anything with my soap box to further this purpose?
“I guess I’m not loud enough. I don’t know what studio that is, but they were very proud of it. All the love and respect to the actress and all the people who thought they were doing the right thing.” But I’m like, what are you doing?” she added.
The original film, titled Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, was based on the Brothers Grimm story and was released in 1937.
It was Disney’s first animated feature film and told the story of a princess who is fed poison. Apple by her stepmother, the queen and then falls into a deep sleep that can only be broken by a kiss from the prince.
Benz Pasek and Justin Paul, the songwriting duo behind La La Land, The Greatest Showman and Dear Evan Hansen, will write new music for the film, which is expected to go into production in 2022.
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