Disney delays woke 'Snow White' reboot for a year following backlash: 'What a disaster'

Social media was in a frenzy over the news Friday that Disney’s controversial upcoming live-action "Snow White" reboot will be delayed another year.

After seeing a new promotional image included in Disney’s announcement, many X users speculated that the movie was being rehauled after backlash to progressive elements that the Walt Disney Company and the film’s star, Rachel Zegler, claimed were being incorporated into the film.

The House of Mouse release declared, "Disney’s Snow White—a live-action musical reimagining of the classic 1937 film—is coming to theaters on March 21, 2025. The film — which stars Rachel Zegler — invites audiences back into the magical world of Snow White with beloved songs and recognizable characters such as the Evil Queen and, of course, Dopey, Grumpy, Sneezy, Bashful, Happy, Sleepy and Doc."

The movie had previously been set to be released on March 22, 2024.

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Disney just announced that its Snow White reboot is getting delayed back to 2025. (The Walt Disney Company via Getty Images)

The Hollywood Reporter suggested the move was happening due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, noting, "Get ready for the dominoes to start falling in earnest as studios race to rearrange their 2024 theatrical release calendars amid the ongoing actors’ strike."

Along with the news on Disney’s site, the entertainment giant shared a brand-new image from the film’s production that sparked speculation about why the movie was really being delayed. 

The new image features Zegler as Snow White sitting around seven CGI dwarves that resemble the same characters from the original 1937 animated film. However, the image seemed inconsistent with Disney’s earlier statements that it was opting to replace the dwarves with seven "magical creatures" to "avoid reinforcing stereotypes" after criticism of the original depictions by "Game of Thrones" actor Peter Dinklage, who has dwarfism.

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Photos from production published online earlier this year appeared to show the "magical creatures" being portrayed by real life people of varying sizes, races and genders. Disney verified that the photos were from the film’s production but said they were "not official photos," and it wasn't immediately clear if all the actors were stand-ins. 

Earlier set photos from Disney's upcoming "Snow White and The Seven Dwarves" remake suggested that many of the title characters had been race and gender swapped for the new film. (Jay L. Clendenin/ Getty Images)

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Onlookers on social media assumed the release announcement and new image Friday meant Disney was delaying the film to drop the politically correct elements in direct response to the viral backlash.

Conservative commentator John Hasson posted, "1. Disney [debuts] ‘woke’ Seven Dwarves 2. Disney announces it will delay Snow White until 2025 3. Disney switches to classic Seven Dwarves."

Conservative reporter Ian Miles Cheong alleged, "Disney has almost completely rewritten its live-action Snow White film, with extensive reshoots. The movie has been delayed by a full year from March 22, 2024 to March 21, 2025. Among the things that ended up on the cutting room floor are the ‘diverse’ dwarves, replaced now with CGI dwarves that look close to the original cartoon."

The Daily Wire’s Frank Fleming remarked, "Apparently, this is a new promotional shot from the live-action Snow White (when I first saw it, I thought it was AI, but it's on all the press-releases). We successfully bullied them into changing the dwarves. It's Sonic all over again."

Prominent conservative account "End Wokeness" posted, "BREAKING: Disney is delaying Snow White until 2025 following backlash against the woke remake. It also appears that Disney has scrapped their ‘diversity creatures’ in favor of CGI dwarves that look similar to the original

Film industry expert and podcast host Grace Randolph observed, "I’m off today so my thoughts: Cleary redoing almost entire film Or at least replacing actors w/ CGI dwarves. Will it save movie? Because the budget will now be astronomically bigger & will likely get #TheLittleMermaid box office if LUCKY. Probably not…"

Conservative journalist Varad Mehta doubted the narrative on why the film is being delayed. He wrote on X, "Yeah, they didn't [delay] this because of the strike. They delayed it because they're doing massive reshoots and/or it'll take an extra year to replace the ‘diversity dwarves’ with CGI versions of the real Seven Dwarfs from the 1937 movie. What a disaster. Walt's spinning."

Walt Disney reps did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

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Gabriel Hays is an associate editor for Fox News Digital.