South Park dropped a promo for its upcoming special ‘Joining the Panderverse’ last week, and some fans think it’s roasting Disney’s upcoming Snow White starring Rachel Zegler.
Even before the resurfaced interview of Rachel Zegler did the rounds online, Disney faced heavy criticism for casting the star – who is of Colombian and Polish descent – for the titular role of its upcoming Snow White live-action movie.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen backlash to Disney’s casting decisions. A similar situation unfolded when Halle Bailey was taken on as Ariel in The Little Mermaid live-action remake.
Never one to shy away from controversial topics, South Park appears as if it may just cover this topic in its upcoming Paramount Plus special ‘Joining the Panderverse’.
Fans think South Park’s upcoming episode roasts Rachel Zegler’s Snow White
In a clip shared last week, South Park characters Cartman, Stan, Butters, and Kenny have been swapped out for adult women of color.
Kyle, the only one who hasn’t been changed, says: “How does this even make any sense?” To which PC Principal responds: “It makes perfect sense. I think the problem is you.”
As well as the contents of the promo, the title of the episode, ‘Joining the Panderverse’, appears to be a satirical take on major Hollywood studios “pandering” to fans with its casting choices.
Chances are, Trey Parker and Matt Stone are taking aim at the mishandling of inclusive casting, rather than inclusive casting itself – although we’re going to have to wait until the episode releases on October 27 to find out for sure.
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Until then, some fans believe the beloved animated adult cartoon is taking shots at Disney, including the Rachel Zegler Snow White controversy.
Taking to X/Twitter, one wrote: “Someone said that the new South Park special must’ve been created when Matt and Trey heard about the Little Mermaid and Snow White remake drama and my brain went Ohhhh… Because now this makes total sense.”
Another said: “OMG. This will be amazing #southpark will destroy woke Hollywood, just like they destroyed #HarryAndMeghanJealousyTour. I can’t wait for the #rachelzegler segment.”
On the other side of the debate, one person wrote: “Don’t see why it needs to be made fun of since there’s objectively nothing wrong with it.”
But it’s likely South Park will deal with the situation in a different way to how some might assume. As said by Sportskeeda: “It highlights the superficial and one-dimensional outcomes when diversity serves as a checkbox, not as an integral part of storytelling.
“The episode also mercilessly mocks this casting. While the mockery doesn’t target Rachel Zegler personally, it critiques Disney’s approach to diversity. The show implies that Disney cares more about how diversity looks than about crafting a rich, layered story.”
‘South Park: Joining the Panderverse’ premieres on Paramount Plus on October 27. To read more about the Rachel Zegler Snow White controversy, hit the links below:
- Snow White controversy explained
- Snow White live-action gets disappointing update
- Is Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson in Snow White?
- Major company apologizes to Rachel Zegler
- Snow White director’s son calls remake “disgrace”
- Rachel Zegler “out of context” video
- Has Rachel Zegler’s Snow White been cancelled?
- Fans “boycotting” another major Zegler movie
- Fans say the same thing about Snow White 4K restoration
- Rachel Zegler shows support to Halle Bailey
- Did Rachel Zegler get Gina Carano fired?
