Disney finds the fairest of them all, taps director and writer for live-action Snow White

Disney's years-long effort to produce high-end live-action remakes of its animated classics isn't going away anytime soon. Dumbo and Aladdin have already arrived this year, with The Lion King and Lady and the Tramp coming soon and Mulan on the horizon, plus many more in development. Now we can add another Disney classic to the list of upcoming live-action remakes: Snow White.

Variety reports that director Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man) is the "top choice" to take the helm of a live-action remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the very first feature-length animated film from Walt Disney's studio. Also "in talks" to join the project is screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson (The Girl on the Train), and while neither deal is final yet, locking in a director and writer for the project is the first step to Disney adding another film to its live-action lineup. Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, Oscar winners for La La Land, are set to write new songs for the film.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs premiered in 1937 before a wider release in 1938. The film was a huge gamble for Disney that many believed would not pay off, and was dubbed "Disney's Folly" by naysayers who felt that animators should stick to short cartoons. The gamble paid off, the popularity of feature-length animation was kickstarted, and animated feature films became one of the pillars of the Walt Disney Company as we now know it.

In the 21st century, another pillar of the Walt Disney Company has become live-action adaptations of its animated classics, and it was only a matter of time before Snow White joined that ever-growing tradition. Snow White has gotten more than one live-action treatment outside of Disney in recent years, including the dark fantasy Snow White and the Huntsman, but this will be the House of Mouse's own attempt to expand on the mythology it built more than 80 years ago with its very first live-action feature on the tale.

Snow White does not yet have a target release date, but you know what this news means: It's time to start fancasting the live-action Seven Dwarfs.