2024 was initially poised to host not one but two Snow White adaptations. Disney’s reimagining, starring Rachel Zegler, was set to premiere alongside a conservative take on the fairy tale by The Daily Wire, featuring Brett Cooper in the lead. At one time, both projects were set for release in 2025, promising a cinematic showdown between two vastly different visions of the beloved classic.
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Now, that’s changed once again.
Credit: Disney
Disney’s decision to delay its release wasn’t without fanfare. The company unveiled a first look at Zegler as Snow White alongside a group of CGI-rendered dwarfs, a creative choice that had already sparked heated debate.
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Originally rumored to replace the dwarfs with “magical creatures,” this decision was influenced by backlash from Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage. However, his remarks were met with mixed reactions, as some members of the dwarfism community criticized his stance.
The casting of Zegler also fueled controversy. Much like Halle Bailey’s casting as Ariel in The Little Mermaid (2023), Zegler’s Latina heritage drew ire from certain corners of the internet.
To add to the discourse, Disney announced a significant change to Snow White’s backstory. Instead of her name being tied to her “skin as white as snow,” the live-action version reimagines the name as a symbol of resilience, rooted in her survival of a childhood snowstorm.
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Credit: Disney
“It fell back to another version of Snow White that was told in history, where she survived a snowstorm that occurred when she was a baby,” Zegler told Variety. “The king and queen decided to name her Snow White to remind her of her resilience. One of the core points in our film for any young woman or young person is remembering how strong you actually are.”
While this thematic shift aligns with Zegler’s previous comments on empowering young audiences, those remarks caused a social media firestorm in 2023. At D23 Expo 2022, Zegler described the original 1937 prince as a “stalker” and critiqued the film’s outdated portrayal of Snow White.
“She’s not going to be saved by the prince, and she’s not going to be dreaming about true love,” Zegler said (via The New York Post). “She’s dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be… if she was fearless, fair, brave, and true.”
Credit: Disney
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These remarks reignited the ongoing “woke” debate, prompting The Daily Wire to announce its own adaptation. During Disney’s centennial celebrations in October 2023, the conservative outlet revealed its version, Snow White and the Evil Queen, which it described as a faithful retelling of the classic story.
“It’s a story about a princess and a prince, about beauty and vanity, about love and its power to raise us from death to life,” said Jeremy Boreing, co-founder of The Daily Wire (The Hollywood Reporter). “We know we aren’t what Disney is today, but we hope in time we might become what they were, once upon a time: a little studio with big ideas and the courage to chase them.”
However, The Daily Wire’s attempt at becoming the new–and right-wing–Disney has hit a major hurdle with Brett Cooper’s departure from the company, and thus, her role as the classic fairytale princess in Snow White and the Evil Queen.
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Credit: Disney
In early December the Snow White actress announced her departure from YouTube’s The Comments Section and The Daily Wire. She let her millions of subscribers know that she had exited the company and that–despite rumors of her being forced out–“it was [her] own choice to leave.” On the episode, The Daily Wire’s head Jeremy Boreing echoed Cooper’s remarks that they were “sad” to see her go.
Her decision to leave The Daily Wire also seems to eradicate any chances its right-wing audience get to see the company’s adaptation of the Snow White story–of which Brett Cooper was, of course, the titular character. Some believe the movie will still release, however, following her exit from The Comments Section, Cooper unfollowed several Daily Wire personalities on social media, including The Daily Wire itself.
Credit: The Daily Wire+
One report alleged that one decision that led Cooper to exit the conservative outlet was the creative direction of Snow White and the Evil Queen.
“The Daily Wire reportedly wanted to add a bunch of subplots with the purpose of triggering leftist viewers, though those subplots were not in the original Snow White tale. Brett Cooper on the other hand wanted her Snow White film to be apolitical, a faithful retelling of the original tale that could be appreciated by conservatives, apoliticals, leftists, and everyone in-between,” Niche Gamer wrote.
Now, Brett Cooper has launched her own brand–The Brett Cooper Show–that will officially begin on January 30, 2025. Her exit from The Comments Section sparked controversy as the channel replaced the popular host with producer Reagan Conrad Rohrbach, who many deem not strong enough to step in for Cooper.
After leaving millions of subscribers behind at The Comments Section, Cooper has now amassed over 730,000 new followers over at The Brett Cooper Show.
Watch the trailer for her new digital platform here:
The Daily Wire’s Snow White and the Evil Queen was set to debut on its children’s streaming platform, Bentkey, though a release date remained unconfirmed. The studio teased its conservative-leaning adaptation as a response to what it perceives as Disney’s departure from traditional storytelling.
“People were very disappointed, very upset about the way Disney was rolling out this project,” Brett Cooper shared on The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast in May 2024. “As somebody who is more traditional… it’s sad to watch these stories be completely destructed for that [woke] agenda.”
Credit: Disney
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Meanwhile, Disney’s live-action Snow White, directed by Marc Webb with a screenplay by Greta Gerwig and Erin Cressida Wilson, is set for a March 21, 2025, release. Featuring Rachel Zegler as Snow White, Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen, and a supporting cast that includes Andrew Burnap and Martin Klebba, the film boasts music from Dear Evan Hansen songwriting duo Pasek and Paul.
The competition between these two adaptations highlights the growing divide in entertainment, with Disney embracing modern values while The Daily Wire targets conservative audiences.
How do you feel about The Daily Wire and Disney’s Snow White battle? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!
