The premiere for the Snow White remake has been relocated to a remote castle in Spain after Disney were forced to ‘scale back’ the promo amid backlash against its woke themes and stars Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot.
Film bosses had originally planned to stage a glittering Hollywood soiree worthy of the staggering $269.4 million spent on making the movie – with events planned in Los Angeles, London and around the world.
Yet amid a series of scandals and PR nightmares surrounding the remake, Disney scaled back the planned lavish premieres to just a ‘handful’ of tightly controlled press events.
The biggest of which is now thousands of miles away from the glare of the media, with Zegler (Snow White) and Gadot (Evil Queen) jetting to the tiny city of Segovia, northwest of Madrid, which boasts a population of just 51,000.
Media outlets have not been invited to the event at Alcázar of Segovia, a medieval castle that rests on a rocky crag at the western end of Segovia’s Old City, which has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Earlier this month, an insider told the Mail: ‘Disney are already anticipating an anti-woke backlash against Snow White and have reduced the media schedule to just a handful of tightly controlled press events.
‘That is why they have taken the highly unusual step not to host a London premiere for the film and are minimising the amount of press questions that Rachel Zegler gets.’
The premiere for the Snow White remake has been relocated to a remote castle in Spain, the Alcázar of Segovia, after Disney were forced to ‘scale back’ the promo amid backlash
The premiere is being held thousands of miles away from the glare of the media, with Rachel Zegler (Snow White) jetting to the tiny city of Segovia, northwest of Madrid on Wednesday
Gal Gadot, who plays the Evil Queen, is also expected to arrive in Segovia, which boasts a population of just 51,000, in order to attend the event this week
While the premiere is being held away from typical haunts one would expect for a movie of such grandure, there is some significance in its choice.
The Alcázar of Segovia was the inspiration behind the castle in Disney’s 1937 original animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, with its distinctive shape, and turrets and steep roofs, seen in the feature.
The Alcázar was built and rebuilt over hundreds of years, beginning as a palace of the Moslem governor in the 10th century.
Today it is a prominent example of Mudéjar architecture, a Moorish-influenced style common in Iberia from the 13th to the 16th centuries.
The upper stories of the palace are still used by Spain’s royal family when they visit Seville.
The public have been banned from entering the castle on Wednesday and Thursday, with a notice stating it has simply been closed for a ‘private event’.
In a further sign that press are being held away from the event, the date of the premiere has not been confirmed on media calendars.
Instead, Spanish Zegler fan accounts have been sharing evidence of the premiere coming into town.
Later this week, the cast will return to the States, with Zegler, 23, and Gadot, 39, expected attend a pre-party and screening at Los Angeles’ El Capitan Theatre on March 15, ‘coverage will be limited to photographers and a house crew.’
While most premieres invite dozens of media outlets to cover the event and interview the cast, the studio has decided to buck tradition in this case.
Zegler had attended an event in Tokyo to promote the film solo last week but Gadot and the rest of the cast were not in attendance.
The castle in Disney’s 1937 animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is based on Alcazar de Segovia, a medieval castle in the Spanish city of Segovia
Media outlets have not been invited to the event at Alcázar of Segovia, a medieval castle that rests on a rocky crag at the western end of Segovia’s Old City
Instead, Spanish Zegler fan accounts have been sharing evidence of the premiere coming into town and noting the significance of the castle being used
The choice comes amid criticism and fears that the remake prioritized ‘woke’ messaging over authentic storytelling.
Since casting Hispanic actress Zegler as Snow White, Disney fans have highlighted the woke deviations from the classic fairy tale.
Notably, from dumping the traditional romance plot because of it’s ‘sexist’, to reimagining the Seven Dwarfs as a diverse group of ‘magical creatures’ of all heights, gender and race.
Zegler also criticized David Hand’s 1937 original animated film as ‘extremely dated when it comes to the ideas of women being in roles of power and what a woman’s fit for in the world.’
‘The original cartoon came out in 1937, and very evidently so,’ she scoffed to Extra TV in 2022.
‘There’s a big focus on her love story with a guy who literally stalks her. Weird. So we didn’t do that this time.’
‘We have a different approach to what I’m sure a lot of people will assume is a love story just because we cast a guy in the movie.
‘All of Andrew’s scenes could get cut, who knows? It’s Hollywood, baby!’ she joked, before admitting in a separate interview that she was ‘terrified’ when she went on the beloved Snow White ride at Disney World.
The choice to relocate comes amid criticism and fears that the remake prioritised ‘woke’ messaging over authentic storytelling and backlash against the stars (pictured in 2022)
About the 1937 film, she said: ‘I was scared of the original version. I think I watched it once and never picked it up again. I’m being so serious.’
Zegler also told Variety that her version of Snow White would be dreaming about becoming a ‘fearless leader’ rather than ‘dreaming about true love.’
‘For Snow White, there’s a famous scene where she falls into a lake, through a trapdoor-type thing in a forest. And we did it, and I got scuba diving training so that I could spend a long time underwater,’ the Golden Globe winner explained to Cosmo.
‘You learn how to use a breathing tube. I had this guy named Pete, who is ex-Navy, attached to me at all times, tethered to me. And essentially I spent…I want to say a total of 48 hours training. And then shot for two whole days. It was seven hours underwater.’
Sources previously revealed to DailyMail.com that Zegler’s reputation as a ‘loose cannon’ nearly got her axed from playing Snow White.
Zegler’s strong opinions have prompted some haters to vow to boycott the film.
Since her rapid rise to superstardom, after beating 30,000 actresses for the part of María Vasquez in Steven Spielberg’s 2021 adaptation of West Side Story, she’s endured frequent criticism.
There was backlash over her casting as Snow White in Disney’s 2025 live-action remake of the animated classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and trolling for her radical left wing stance on politics.
Previously, Disney sparked backlash after they announced that ‘magical creatures’ would replace the seven dwarves to ‘avoid reinforcing stereotypes’
The dwarves are now depicted as animated creatures after stars such as Peter Dinklage criticised the ‘f****** backwards story’ last year
While reflecting on comments made on social media about her casting as Snow White, Zegler insisted she doesn’t even try to wrap her head why ‘Disney adults’ would have a problem with someone Latina portraying the beloved princess.
Zegler proceeded to reveal that the line describing her character’s ‘skin as white as snow’ will reference ‘another version of Snow White that was told in history,’ in which the character ‘survived a snowstorm that occurred when she was a baby.’
‘The king and queen decided to name her Snow White to remind her of her resilience,’ the Hackensack native noted. ‘One of the core points in our film for any young woman or young person is remembering how strong you actually are.’
The star also admitted that it was ‘sad’ to see so many people rip her apart for teasing that her version of Snow White would not not be saved by a prince.
‘In all honesty, it made me sad that it was taken in such a way, because I believe that women can do anything. But I also believe that they can do everything,’ she explained. ‘It can be very upsetting when things get taken out of context or jokes don’t land.’
Zegler went on to make it clear that the ‘love story is very integral’ and that it wasn’t true that her remake wouldn’t feature any romance.
‘I’ve watched women get torn down my whole life, my whole career,’ she said. ‘We’ll watch it in the election that’s upcoming. We’re gonna witness that for a long time, I fear. Sometimes it can feel like we’re going back; it certainly felt that way when that was happening.’
Zegler had attended an event in Tokyo to promote the film solo last week but Gadot and the rest of the cast were not in attendance
Although she is tempted to leave social media, at times, she confessed that she doesn’t like to give trolls the ‘satisfaction of knowing they hurt me in the moment.’
‘You give them a lot of power by taking a social media break,’ she pointed out.
Over the years, she has used her platforms to champion causes that are important to her.
During the SAG-AFTRA strike in 2023, she spoke about the possible dangers of AI as she recalled having like ‘465 photos taken of every corner’ of her body for CG stunts.
‘It was f**king dystopian,’ she said. ‘I was really scared of being replaced by an artificial intelligence version of myself that they scanned when I was 18 and then never being able to work on a set again. What was stopping them from using that for the rest of my life?’
She’s also advocated for Palestinians.
‘I can’t watch children die,’ she told the outlet. ‘I don’t think that should be a hot take… We’re nearing one year since the horrendous attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, but I’ve been following this conflict for so many years.
‘Like so many people, I’m so heartbroken by the loss of life that we’re seeing with these insane death tolls coming out of both regions.’
Still, she acknowledges that she doesn’t ‘have the answers.’
‘I don’t think any celebrity making a political statement has the answers,’ she said.
‘But we have the platform to share a donation link to make sure that these people get the money, the care and the aid that they need that people in power aren’t giving them. If that means that it can fall upon us to be in power in a way that is helpful, then I’m happy to do it.’
Since casting Hispanic actress Zegler as Snow White, Disney fans have highlighted the woke deviations from the classic fairy tale
Previously, Disney sparked backlash after they announced that ‘magical creatures’ would replace the seven dwarves to ‘avoid reinforcing stereotypes’ with Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage criticized the ‘f****** backwards story’ last year.
‘I was a little taken aback when they [Disney] were very proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White, but you’re still telling the story of Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs,’ he told Mark Maron’s WTF podcast.
‘It makes no sense to me. You’re progressive in one way and you’re still making that f***ing backwards story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together, what the f*** are you doing, man? Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soapbox? I guess I’m not loud enough.’
Dinklage’s concerns were shared by some charities, including the Restricted Growth Association in the UK.
‘I very much stand with Peter Dinklage on the disappointment and irritation towards Disney for the remake of Snow White,’ Rhonda Cutmore, a member of the association, told The Telegraph. ‘
Dwarfism writer Steph Robson said she hoped film producers make an effort to avoid stereotypes in its retelling of the classic movie.
‘It is my hope that the latest live action remake, and Disney, will, at the very least go some way to redress the decades of the one-dimensional stereotypes that our disability continues to experience, especially within arts and cultural settings,’ she told the outlet.
The story has also been criticized as being ableist for portraying the dwarfs with lesser intelligence and Snow White seeing them as children.
Zegler has criticised David Hand’s 1937 original animated film as ‘extremely dated when it comes to the ideas of women being in roles of power and what a woman’s fit for in the world’
Disney later said it’s ‘taking a different approach’ with Snow White’s seven companions.
In a statement last year, the company said it had been consulting with members of the dwarfism community throughout the early stages of production.
‘To avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film, we are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community,’ a spokesperson said.
‘We look forward to sharing more as the film heads into production after a lengthy development period.’
In December last year, sources close to the production said Snow White’s seven ‘dwarfs’ were not going to be fully computer generated, and wouldn’t be dwarfs at all.
Instead, she would be befriended by magical, forest-dwelling creatures.
