Disney is rethinking the release strategy behind two of its upcoming titles. On Friday, Variety reported that the studio had delayed the upcoming live-action Snow White by a year and completely removed Magazine Dreams, Jonathan Majors’s assumed awards drama, from its schedule. The shifts come amid an actors strike that drags on without resolution and controversy weathered by both films.
Magazine Dreams, which was acquired by Disney’s Searchlight Pictures out of Sundance, had been slated for release on December 8. But that date would have placed its debut in the midst of Majors’s trial for misdemeanor charges of assault and harassment stemming from an alleged domestic dispute.
The trial is set to begin on November 29. Disney has not revealed any alternate plans for releasing the film, which debuted at Sundance to positive reviews, with Vanity Fair’s chief critic calling his performance a “terrifying wonder.” The actor has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The live-action version of Snow White starring Rachel Zegler will now debut on March 21, 2025, a whole year after its original release date of March 22, 2024, according to Variety. The delay follows some backlash faced by the film, sight unseen, about how it will potentially depict dwarfism, with actor Peter Dinklage previously calling the original fairy tale “fucking backward” and questioning its need to be retold.
In a statement to Deadline, a Disney spokesperson replied with the following: “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. We look forward to sharing more as the film heads into production after a lengthy development period.”
Zegler herself told Vanity Fair last year: “People are making these jokes about ours being the PC Snow White, where it’s like, yeah, it is—because it needed that. It’s an 85-year-old cartoon, and our version is a refreshing story about a young woman who has a function beyond ‘Someday My Prince Will Come.’” Surprising no one, some have taken issue with Zegler’s perceived critique of the 1937 animated film.
It’s not the only Disney title on the move. Elio, an animated science-fiction film featuring voice work from America Ferrera and Jameela Jamil, has also been pushed back by a year—from March 1, 2024 to June 13, 2025.
These films join several others to get rearranged during the actors strike, including Dune: Part Two and Challengers, both of which will now bow in the spring of next year.
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