Paddington 3 continues without Rachel Zegler and everyone said the same thing

Daisy Phillipson
Still from Paddington 2 and image of Rachel Zegler

It’s been reported that Paddington 3, titled Paddington in Peru, is moving along without Rachel Zegler, who was set to star in the threequel movie – and everyone is saying the same thing amid her Snow White controversy. 

Unless you’ve been off-grid for the past couple of months, you will be aware of the Rachel Zegler Snow White scandal. It all stems from a 2022 interview in which the West Side Story star described the original Disney animation as “weird,” called the prince a “stalker,” and spoke about switching up the narrative’s focus from true love to female empowerment. 

The clip did the rounds online in August and sparked an angry backlash, with critics arguing that she shouldn’t be allowed to portray the titular princess in the upcoming Snow White live-action remake if she doesn’t like the source material. Amid the tumult, there’s been talks of boycotting her next movie, old dramas have been dragged up, and there’s even suggestions that the project has been scrapped altogether – although it hasn’t. 

And now a new twist in this ongoing saga has arrived following the news that Paddington 3 is continuing without Zegler – but there’s a pretty reasonable explanation behind it. 

Reaction to Paddington 3 continuing without Rachel Zegler 

Paddington 3, aka Paddington in Peru, is said to be continuing filming in the UK without Rachel Zegler, and it appears the news has caused some confusion, with many people now questioning whether the star has been dropped from Disney’s Snow White live-action remake. 

This is after a number of publications shared headlines alluding to this idea, including Inside the Magic, which wrote ‘Snow White Star Rachel Zegler Dropped from Film, Will Be Recast’. Elsewhere, Disney Dining shared the headline ‘Snow White Star Rachel Zegler Axed From Movie After Backlash’. 

Many have taken this to mean Zegler’s been axed from Snow White, with one writing on X/Twitter: “I get that people were pissed about this live action’s plot & how Rachel here was pro for the change (was ok w/ it cuz I hated the OG movie anyway), but SHE LOOKED LIKE THE PERFECT SNOW WHITE, SO WHY THE HELL RECAST HER OF ALL DAMN THINGS?!”

Another speculated: “Rachel Zegler didn’t get fired from the Disney Snow White movie because of strikes. She got fired because she was bad mouthing the source material. How is the movie not even completed yet she’s talking badly about the original character? She shouldn’t have been doing publicly.”

While a third added: “I don’t know if what I’m seeing online is true, but I’m seeing that they have fired Rachel Zegler from playing the live action adaptation of Disney’s Snow White.

If it’s true, then it’s well deserved. That girl became an ache to everyone around her including her employers.”

Others have jumped in to inform people of the truth, including this person who said: “Saw multiple clickbait articles saying ‘Snow White actress Rachel Zegler recast!’ and they were talking about Paddington 3. The hate is strong for this girl.”

A second wrote: “I don’t care one way or the other about the Snow White movie coming up but people are now celebrating that Rachel Zegler was fired from the project but she hasn’t been.”

Rachel Zegler in West Side Story
Rachel Zegler in West Side Story

Back in June, Variety reported that Zegler was in talks to join the voice cast for Paddington 3. However, according to Digital Spy, the movie is continuing to film without the star – but it has nothing to do with the Disney controversy and is reportedly down to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike. 

Although the threequel is being shot in the UK, which is covered by its own actors’ union, Zegler is part of the Hollywood strike. It’s yet to be confirmed by the studio whether Zegler will be recast in Paddington 3. 

There have been plenty of comments about the situation as it unfolds, with one writing on X/Twitter: “Paddington 3 wraps filming in two weeks, and Rachel Zegler was recast due to strikes.”

A second chimed in: “Can’t wait for people on YouTube to start making lies about it and be like ‘RACHEL ZEGLER FIRED FROM PADDINGTON 3 AMIST CONTROVERSY!’ when she never even got fired and had to be recast due to the strikes and it being a UK production that started about a month ago.”

To read more about the Snow White controversy, check out the coverage below: 

About The Author

Daisy is a Senior TV and Movies Writer at Dexerto. She's a lover of all things macabre, whether that be horror, crime, psychological thrillers or all of the above. After graduating with a Masters in Magazine Journalism, she's gone on to write for Digital Spy, LADbible and Little White Lies. You can contact her on daisy.phillipson@dexerto.com