Lead actress hated the source material and gave interviews to that effect
During an interview with Variety, Zegler explained how her version of Snow White focuses on leadership and self-discovery rather than the traditional fairy tale narrative of a damsel in distress waiting for a prince.
"I just mean that it's no longer 1937, and we absolutely wrote a Snow White that's not gonna be saved by the prince, and she's not gonna be dreaming about true love," Zegler said.
"She's dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be and the leader that her late father told her she could be if she was fearless, fair, brave, and true. And so, it's just a really incredible story for young people everywhere to see themselves in."
Zegler referred to the original 1937 Snow White movie as outdated and even suggested that the prince was depicted as a "guy who literally stalks her."
In a separate interview with Extra TV, Zegler reiterated her perspective: "The original cartoon came out in 1937, and very evidently so. There's a big focus on her love story with a guy who literally stalks her. Weird, weird. So we didn't do that this time. It's an inner journey that she goes on to find her true self and she meets a lot of people along the way that make the journey really incredible."