Disney's 'Snow White' remake appears to ditch the seven dwarfs, set photos suggest, sparking online controversy

• Photos from Disney's "Snow White" remake appear to confirm the film won't feature the seven dwarfs.
• The decision is tied to Disney's push to promote inclusivity, but it has sparked controversy online.

Set photos from the upcoming Disney remake of "Snow White" appear to confirm that the film is ditching the seven dwarfs, sparking debate on whether the effort to be more inclusive is backfiring.

The cast of the Disney remake, set to be released in 2024, includes "West Side Story" actress Rachel Zegler in the titular role of Snow White and Gal Gadot, who will play the Evil Queen.

But the set photos, which were first published by the Daily Mail on Friday, show the story will use a diverse group of people instead of the original movie's seven dwarfs. According to IMDb, the new images were likely taken during production reshoots on Thursday.

Disney later told The Daily Beast the photos were taken from production for "Snow White" but did not feature Zegler and actor Andrew Burnap, who has been cast as the film's male lead, as the Daily Mail had initially reported.

The photos have sparked controversy online, especially among some conservatives.

Tweeting in response to the images, Fox News commentator Tomi Lahren called Disney "a joke."

"So they have one little person playing a dwarf to be more 'politically correct?' So 6 other little people didn't get the job or the check and somehow this is more 'sensitive?' Disney is a joke," she wrote.

TikTokers have also debated whether Disney's inclusivity efforts are actually backfiring and leading to fewer work opportunities for actors who are part of the dwarfism community.

Link Lauren, who has about 300,000 followers on TikTok, said the move was "ironic."

"Instead of hiring these little people who could've used the work and who could've gotten paid and who don't have many roles in Hollywood they decided not to to be inclusive," Lauren said. "It's like the diversity and equity stuff has gone so far it's like the snake going around and eating itself."

Controversy surrounding Disney's latest live-action remake is nothing new. In 2022, "Game of Thrones" actor Peter Dinklage said it was a "fucking backward story of seven dwarfs living in a cave."

Disney responded in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, saying it was consulting "with members of the dwarfism community" during the pre-production process for the movie.

"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," a representative said.

Referencing Dinklage's comments, one user wrote in a viral tweet on Friday that the actor was not to blame for Disney's decision to reimagine the seven dwarfs.

"He never said don't hire them ... he said portray them like complicated human beings not stereotypes. In response Disney chose not to portray them at all," the tweet says.

Representatives for Disney did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, made outside normal working hours.