Tangled Live-Action Movie Back in Development, Major MCU Star Circling Role
The live-action Tangled remake is back in development at Disney.
Tangled was released by Walt Disney Animation Studios in 2010. Loosely based on the classic Rapunzel fairytale, the film is directed by Nathan Greno and Byron Howard. Tangled’s voice cast includes Mandy Moore as Rapunzel, Zachary Levi as Flynn Rider, and Donna Murphy as Mother Gothel.
In 2024, it was announced that Tangled was getting a live-action remake. The Greatest Showman and Better Man’s Michael Gracey was tapped to direct a script written by Jennifer Kaylin Robinson.
Production on the project, however, was put on pause this past April after the live-action Snow White remake didn’t make as Disney expected it to. That film grossed $206 million worldwide off an estimated $240-270 million budget.
Per Deadline, the live-action Tangled movie is now back in early development; although, the project has yet to receive an official green light from Disney. Gracey is still attached to direct at this time.
Who is in talks to star in the live-action Tangled remake?
It has also now been announced that Scarlett Johansson is in talks to play Mother Gothel in the new film.
Best known for playing Black Widow in the MCU, Johansson starred in Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme and Universal Pictures’ Jurassic World Rebirth in 2025. She also directed June Squibb in Eleanor the Great, which was released in theaters a couple of weeks ago, and will soon be seen in James Gray’s new crime thriller, Paper Tiger, which also stars Adam Driver and Miles Teller.
Deadline’s article notes about Disney’s decision to resume development on Tangled, “There’s a big difference in regards to the audience appeal for old Disney animated pics receiving the live action take, versus those titles post the 1989 Little Mermaid musical renaissance. Those live-action redos, i.e. Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Lilo & Stitch, have had greater success at the box office. Lilo & Stitch alone is the highest-grossing MPA title of 2025 to date with $1.03 billion worldwide.”
Source: Comingsoon.net