Gal Gadot’s casting as the Evil Queen in Disney’s Snow White remake raises concerns about the film’s reception and success, given her recent critical failure in the Netflix movie Heart of Stone.
Audience and critic enthusiasm for Disney remakes has been declining, and the lackluster performance of The Little Mermaid adaptation at the box office adds to Snow White’s uncertain prospects.

Gadot’s track record since her breakout role in Wonder Woman has been shaky, with underwhelming performances in various projects, making her a risky choice for the lead role in Disney’s Snow White.

Gal Gadot’s casting in Disney’s next live-action offering, Snow White, could be a bad sign after her recent Netflix failure, Heart of Stone. Audience and critic enthusiasm for Disney remakes has been flagging in some quarters as the movie giant continues to release mostly uninspired remakes of its classic animated films. This means next year’s Snow White could already be on precarious footing, and Gadot’s casting as the Evil Queen only raises more questions about how it will be received.

Snow White follows a lackluster performance from this year’s live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid, starring Halle Bailey, which found itself lagging behind other Disney remakes at the box office. In another worrying sign, adapting 1937’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs has already proven controversial, with actor Peter Dinklage calling Snow White “backwards” for its casting of people without dwarfism. Disney responded that it was “taking a different approach” to the dwarfs. Although casting a big-name actress like Wonder Woman star Gadot might initially seem to be a strategy to paper over some of these problems, it could in fact actually make matters more risky.

Disney’s Snow White Remake Is Even More Worrying After Gal Gadot’s Heart Of Stone Critical Failure

Gal Gadot in Heart of Stone

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Snow White‘s prospects could be rescued with a strong cast, but the filmmakers’ choice of lead actresses isn’t a particularly good omen. West Side Story Rachel Zegler is playing the Disney Princess herself, but her role comes after her recent movie, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, crashed at the box office. Similarly, Gal Gadot, who has been cast as the villainous Evil Queen, recently struggled to impress critics with her latest major role in the Netflix movie Heart of Stone, a glossy spy thriller that largely failed to make a dent on the movie scene.

Heart of Stone, which follows Gadot as an international agent in the vein of Mission: Impossible, did not have the latter’s skill in winning over audiences and critics. Currently, Heart of Stone has a 32% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, and while audiences generated a kinder 61% rating, the numbers were decidedly lackluster. This could signal tides being against the Wonder Woman star, making her a risky choice for Disney’s Snow White.

Gal Gadot Hasn’t Starred In A Major Live-Action Success Since 2017’s Wonder Woman

Even more worryingly, Heart of Stone isn’t a one-off; Disney’s upcoming Evil Queen hasn’t found much critical success since her breakout playing Wonder Woman. As well as being accused of shaky performances in whodunnit Death on the Nile and Netflix’s Red Notice, Gadot has also taken on more DC fare in the form of Wonder Woman 1984, Justice League, the Shazam sequel and The Flash ― which all attracted a lukewarm reception at best. Even Gadot’s Wonder Woman 3 status generated confusion, as the actress suggested she was returning as the character before reports contradicted her. While Snow White could be a return to form for Disney, there is nothing to suggest the new remake will necessarily do better than fellow Disney Princess flick The Little Mermaid. On top of its problems with cultural baggage from the original, Gadot’s ropey resume, particularly the criticism aimed at Heart of Stone, is a worrying sign. Zegler was a delight in her breakout role in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story remake, but Gadot is, unfortunately, proving that she may not be able to carry a movie. It remains to be seen if Snow White can come to the rescue for both Disney and Gadot.