Rachel Zegler smiling and singing in Snow White

The Snow White director explains how a cut scene from the original Disney movie inspired the live-action version of the 2025 story. The latest in Disney’s slew of live-action adaptations stars West Side Story breakout star Rachel Zegler as the titular princess. In addition to Zegler, the adaptation’s cast includes Gal Gadot, Jeremy Swift, Tituss Burgess, Andrew Burnap, Ansu Kabia, and Andrew Barth Feldman. Snow White is set for release later this month on March 21, 2025.

As per the D23 Spring 2025 Magazine (via The Direct), Snow White director Marc Webb explained how the original animated movie influenced the version of the prince featured in the 2025 film. According to Webb, part of the Snow White team’s process was going back into the Walt Disney Archives to explore the original. Webb observed a sketch showing “the Prince being held in the dungeon,” which inspired him to flesh out the film’s romance plotline “a bit more deeply.” Check out the full quote from Webb below:

When writing the script, we went back to the (Walt Disney) Archives to understand how Walt brought ‘Snow White’ to life. It was humbling to see the amount of work and care that went into the making of that magnificent piece of art.

One sketch that didn’t make it into the original film— about the Prince being held in the dungeon —really stuck with me. It was a storyline that Walt never got to complete to his satisfaction. So, in a sense, Jonathan was our effort to pick up where he left off.

We’ve been careful to preserve the iconography of ‘Snow White’ that we love while also exploring Snow White’s romance and romantic relationship a bit more deeply.

What This Means For Snow White

Snow White Is Expanding The Story

Snow White yawning in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

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It is refreshing to hear that Snow White intends to expand the storyline from the original Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs story. After all, the original animated movie came out 88 years ago, and the original story is based on a 19th-century tale. The film’s animated counterpart only has an 83-minute runtime, which is fairly short by today’s live-action standards. Early reports have situated Disney’s new Snow White at around 110 minutes, making it nearly a half an hour longer than the original film and requiring a deeper dive.

In the upcoming live-action film, the character in question is Jonathan, who will take over as the male lead previously led by the Prince. Little is known about the character, although Burnap will portray the role and will sing. However, Zegler hinted that the new version will be updated, which could include the execution of the love story. Thus, this new comment from Webb provides more clues as to how the male lead will be featured in the movie, implying that there could be more to his arc than what was seen in the original version.

Our Take On This Snow White News

Snow White Could Be A Better Disney Live-Action Remake Because Of This

Rachel Zegler as Snow White smiling into a well in Snow White Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen putting on her crown in Snow White Rachel Zegler as Snow White singing and dancing with the dwarves in Snow White Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen looking down angrily from a balcony in Snow White Rachel Zegler as Snow White looking worried in Snow White Rachel Zegler as Snow White smiling into a well in Snow White Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen putting on her crown in Snow White Rachel Zegler as Snow White singing and dancing with the dwarves in Snow White Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen looking down angrily from a balcony in Snow White Rachel Zegler as Snow White looking worried in Snow White

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Regardless of where it originates from, Snow White could be a refreshing chance for a Disney live-action movie to do something new. Many Disney remakes (e.g., Cinderella, The Lion King) try to be faithful to the point of tedium, copying their animated originals while adding nothing new. Webb’s quote is no guarantee that Snow White will fully avoid this fate, but it is a step in the right direction of differentiating live-action remakes from their originals.