Disney’s live-action Snow White has recently become one of the company’s most divisive movies of all time, and unfortunately, this wouldn’t have happened if the movie had stuck with its original premise. Released in March 2025, Snow White is a live-action reimagining of the 1937 classic, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Aside from earning lukewarm reviews, the movie was panned for its casting choices, its use of CGI, and the tension surrounding actors’ differing political views. Ultimately, Snow White has become a big deal for Disney, and not in a good way.

The big question that remains after Disney’s Snow White scandal is how this all could have been avoided. A portion of the blame has to rest on Disney itself. Though the company isn’t able to control its actors and their beliefs, there could have been more consideration when putting certain performers in certain roles. For example, Gal Gadot has faced notable criticism for her acting as the Evil Queen. Furthermore, Disney could have cast real actors with dwarfism to play the seven dwarves rather than using CGI. However, one big change might have saved Snow White completely.

Disney Was Going To Make A Rose Red Movie About Snow White’s Sister Originally

Rose Red Had The Potential To Be Great

Disney could have avoided its Snow White debacle by sticking with the movie’s original premise, which wasn’t centered on Snow White at all. Before Disney announced its plans to develop a live-action Snow White, the company had revealed that it would be making a live-action Snow White spinoff centered on the princess’s sister, Rose Red. This character existed in the original Grimm Brothers fairytale, but was cut out of Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. In the story, Snow White and Rose Red showed kindness to their peers, which allowed them to break a years-long curse.

Rose Red would have been an awesome project for Disney if it hadn’t fallen through. The movie was first put into development in 2016, but was eventually canceled in 2021. Presumably, this is because Disney had other bigger projects to pursue, including the live-action Snow White, which also went into development in 2016. Regardless, Rose Red could have shed light on a new fairytale character who switched up the original Snow White narrative. The movie could have gone in countless directions, dark or light. Plus, Disney even had Brie Larson attached to the movie.

A Rose Red Movie Could’ve Avoided Many Of Snow White’s Biggest Controversies

Rose Red Wouldn’t Have Been Totally Safe From Controversy

If Disney had kept its Rose Red movie in production rather than the live-action Snow White, the film could have curtailed the issues that have plagued Snow White. Mainly, this is because Rose Red is a story that few audiences actually know, so there wouldn’t have been any upset about changing the source material. A lot of the backlash Snow White has faced has been about changing the original Snow White story, and this has been the reality for many of Disney’s other live-action adaptations. Fortunately, Rose Red is more of a blank slate that Disney could build on from scratch.

Then again, there is no guarantee that Rose Red would have been totally safe from controversy.

Then again, there is no guarantee that Rose Red would have been totally safe from controversy. As a result of being a massive company, Disney often gets criticized for its choices, and Rose Red would definitely have been scrutinized by the public. Just like with Snow White, viewers may have been distraught by Disney’s casting depending on who they hired to be in the movie. Presumably, Disney also would have followed through with its CGI dwarfs in Rose Red. In this way, Rose Red could have lessened Snow White’s divisiveness, but wouldn’t necessarily solve it completely.

Rose Red Would Be A Riskier Box Office Bet For Disney, But It May Have Done Better

Disney’s Future After Snow White

One final point about Rose Red is that it might have done better at the box office than Snow White. Along with receiving middling reviews, Snow White only grossed $168 million on a budget of $240-270 million. If Rose Red did decrease Snow White’s controversy, then it probably could have raised its box office earnings as well. This is true even though Rose Red wouldn’t have the same familiarity with audiences as Snow White had. It is telling that, despite being a box office risk, Rose Red could have made as much as or more than Snow White.

After Snow White, Disney is definitely reevaluating its choices. One hint of this is the fact that Disney has put a pause on its Tangled live-action remake. The assumption is that the company needs to figure out what exactly went wrong with Snow White so that it doesn’t happen again with another movie. Unfortunately, this also means that Rose Red probably won’t get revived, as Snow White has left such a bad mark on Disney. In this way, Rose Red could have been Snow White’s savior, but it is now probably going to be abandoned for good.