Steven Spielberg Had A Wild Snow White Movie Pitch That Never Got Made

The first published version of "Snow White" dropped in 1812, as authored by Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm. The Grimm Brothers re-wrote the story in 1854, however, and that's the version that most audiences know. The tale centers on a vain, evil queen with a magic mirror that gives her daily affirmations. When she asks if she is the fairest (at a time when having pale skin was a sign of beauty), the mirror would reply that she was. The queen's wicked idyll is then interrupted by the birth of a young maiden named Snow White for her fairness. To retain her unofficial title of Fairest in the Land, the queen aims to have Snow White murdered. Her schemes involved servants, spells, and a home populated by seven miners.

"Snow White" has been adapted for other mediums numerous times since then. There are poems, ballets, operas, comic books, video games, and many, many film versions of the fairy tale. The most famous movie adaptation, of course, is the animated one released by Disney back in 1937. Indeed, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" was the first animated feature that Disney produced, inaugurating one of the most powerful animation studios in the world.

But, golly, there are a lot of "Snow White" movies. There was a period action flick called "Snow White and the Huntsman" released in 2012, which was the same year that the whimsical retelling "Mirror Mirror" came out. There was also 2007's "Sydney White," a then modern-day re-imagining starring Amanda Bynes. In fact, a decade before that, there was even a horror-centric take on the story made in the form of 1997's "Snow White: A Tale of Terror" (starring Sigourney Weaver as the evil queen). That's all on top of the multiple "Snow White" films released way back in the 1900s and 1910s. It's a reliable source of inspiration.

It seems that, in 1969, Universal was aiming to make its own updated version of "Snow White," set in the then-present inside an average city apartment. Much more surprisingly, a vintage article by The New York Times reveals that a 24-year-old Steven Spielberg was approached to direct it.

It's worth noting that in 1969, the 23-year-old Steven Spielberg had only directed a few shorts and a single amateur feature titled "Firelight," which he shot when he was just 17. In '69, Spielberg's best-known would've been "Amblin'," the short that would eventually give his production company its name. He had also helmed an episode of the then-new "Night Gallery," but was still two years away from directing 1971's "Duel," his first professional feature film. (Three years later, he was off and running with "The Sugarland Express.")

It seems, though, that Universal wanted the young Spielberg to direct a "Snow White" movie based on the strength of "Amblin'" alone. According to the old New York Times article, Universal's "Snow White" was to be about a modern Snow White who "shares her San Francisco apartment with seven young men while waiting for her prince to show up." This doesn't sound terribly different from "Sydney White." Given that it was being developed in 1969, though, it likely would have been a lot more ribald and "swinging."

The project, however, fell apart in Universal's hands. Spielberg didn't do any serious work on "Snow White" before moving on to make better movies for Universal. ("Duel," "The Sugarland Express," and a little shark flick Spielberg directed called "Jaws" were all put out by the studio in the decade that followed.)

Spielberg, however, wasn't done dabbling in "Snow White." Decades later, director Marc Webb cast Rachel Zegler in his 2025 "Snow White" movie after Spielberg gave the actor what she described as "a really glowing recommendation" during an appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" (with Spielberg having previously worked with Zegler on his excellent "West Side Story" adaptation). Zegler is a great performer and a talented singer, so one imagines Webb probably didn't need much in the way of convincing to hire her.

It may've taken 56 years, but it seems Spielberg eventually found a way to put his own spin on "Snow White." Well, sorta.