Even though Disney replaced Snow White's prince for the live-action remake, the new character still came straight from the Walt Disney Archives.
Releasing in theaters on Friday, March 21, Disney's Snow White stars Rachel Zegler as the fairest of them all, Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen, and Andrew Burnap as Snow White's brand-new love interest, Jonathan.
Who Replaced Snow White's Prince for the 2025 Remake?
In the D23 Spring 2025 magazine, Disney delved into the new character of Jonathan who replaced Snow White's prince for Disney's Snow White.
According to director Marc Webb, the film's new male lead was directly molded by a cut scene of the prince in a dungeon from the 1937 animated film. In talking with D23, Webb discussed visiting the Walt Disney Archives to "understand how Walt brought Snow White to life:"
"When writing the script, we went back to the (Walt Disney) Archives to understand how Walt brought 'Snow White' to life. It was humbling to see the amount of work and care that went into the making of that magnificent piece of art."
During the visit, the director noted how a cut sketch of the prince in a dungeon "really stuck with [him]" and how the new character of Jonathan is an "effort to pick up" where Walt (Disney) left off:
"One sketch that didn't make it into the original film— about the Prince being held in the dungeon —really stuck with me. It was a storyline that Walt never got to complete to his satisfaction. So, in a sense, Jonathan was our effort to pick up where he left off."
Furthermore, Webb touched on the balance of preserving "the iconography of Snow White" while exploring the "romantic relationship a bit more deeply:"
"We've been careful to preserve the iconography of 'Snow White' that we love while also exploring Snow White's romance and romantic relationship a bit more deeply."
Snow White's Rachel Zegler alluded to the remake's new take on its male romantic lead in her early controversial comments about the film, saying her heroine is "not going to be saved by the prince" or focus on a romance "with a guy who literally stalks her."
Since some fans interpreted the bulk of Zegler's comments as disrespectful, and due to the disastrous dislike-bombing of Snow White's trailer, Webb's words about Jonathan's historical inspirations will likely help in the film's uphill battle to win over audiences.
Who Is Jonathan in Disney’s Snow White?
In talking about the Jonathan role, actor Andrew Burnap told D23 about the dream scenario of being in a Disney movie while also getting to "create my own character:"
"I grew up worshipping those 90s Disney animated films. And to know I was going to be able to not only be in a reimagining of 'Snow White' but also create my own character was like, if there were dreams on a list, I would say that's pretty high up there."
Burnap also shed new light on his non-royal Jonathan, describing him as "disillusioned" and "part of a certain resistance:"
"Jonathan finds himself quite disillusioned with the power structures of the world he lives in and is part of a certain resistance to those power structures. When we meet him, he is just looking for a reason to find a sense of fight in himself again, that sense of hope that seems to be missing from the world. There are certain times in life where your sense of hope and resistance is knocked down a few pegs and you're just looking for something that will reignite the fire within you. And that's certainly the place where Jonathan finds himself."
But despite those dark beats, Burnap shared how Snow White is also "full of love and wonder and joy while also being very funny." In fact, the Disney star claimed he is similar to Jonathan in employing "humor to get out of tricky situations:"
"Jonathan is a real user of humor to get out of tricky situations, which, I have to say, I am also one of those people. So when I read the script, I thought, I know this guy."
Snow White's Rachel Zegler compared Burnap's Jonathan to another Disney male lead, Flynn Rider from Tangled, saying,
"I think people aren't expecting the humor that Andrew's character, Jonathan, will bring to the story. There's an element of sarcasm that you don't really see in a lot of Disney films. I think the most comparable character would be Flynn Rider in 'Tangled' [2010], where he has a bit of that cynicism in him."
Zegler further noted that the differences between Snow White and Jonathan created "an interesting" relationship because "Jonathan is kind of this born cynic and Snow White has a lot of hope and faith."
Disney's Snow White arrives in theaters on Friday, March 21. Check out how fans reacted to Snow White's live-action dwarf designs here.
