Disney has officially started working on a live-action remake of its popular animated movie, Tangled. Tangled is a modern take on the Rapunzel story and has become a beloved Disney princess film, similar to Frozen and Encanto. The news was confirmed by Kathryn Hahn, known for her role in Marvel’s Agatha All Along, who will be playing the villain Mother Gothel. Mother Gothel is the character who keeps Rapunzel locked away, hoping to use the magic in her hair to stay young.
Okay, so a live-action Tangled is officially happening! Michael Gracey, who did The Greatest Showman, is directing, which is exciting. I’m hearing Teagan Croft – you might know her from Titans – will be playing Rapunzel, and Milo Manheim (Zombie) is set to be Flynn. They’ve got the cast and crew assembled, so while there’s no firm release date just yet, my guess is we’ll see it sometime in 2027 or early 2028. I’m definitely keeping an eye on this one!
Tangled‘s Live-Action Remake Hopes to Continue Disney’s Big Comeback
Disney significantly expanded its options in 2010 with Tim Burton’s live-action Alice in Wonderland, which grossed over a billion dollars globally. Though Disney had experimented with live-action adaptations in the late 1990s, like The Jungle Book and the remake of 101 Dalmatians, it wasn’t until the 2010s that they found an audience open to reimagined versions of their animated classics, having grown up with different expectations.
Disney initially experimented with live-action remakes, like Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, the action-packed The Sorcerer’s Apprentice starring Nicolas Cage, Angelina Jolie’s Maleficent (which offered a different perspective on Sleeping Beauty), and Kenneth Branagh’s romantic take on Cinderella. But when these films—each costing between $100 and $200 million to make—didn’t perform as well as hoped, Disney shifted its strategy.
By 2016, Disney had the technology to create films similar to James Cameron’s Avatar, blending real actors with advanced motion capture and realistic computer-generated imagery, pushing the boundaries of what “live-action” meant. While budgets for these films often exceeded $200 million, movies like The Jungle Book (2016), Beauty and the Beast (2017), Aladdin (2019), and The Lion King (2019) frequently earned over a billion dollars. However, Disney’s string of live-action remakes didn’t last, and films like Mulan (2020) and Pinocchio (2022) failed to succeed. Some, like Lady and the Tramp (2019), were even released directly on Disney+ instead of in theaters.
As a movie critic, I’ve been watching Disney closely after their rocky period in the early 2020s. The switch from Bob Iger to Bob Chapek clearly didn’t work out, and when Iger returned in 2023, one of his first tasks was fixing the struggling live-action remakes. It’s been a gradual improvement, but we’re starting to see positive results. The Little Mermaid (2023) was a good start, bringing in almost $600 million. Then Mufasa: The Lion King (2024) exceeded expectations with over $720 million. But it was the Lilo & Stitch remake in 2025 that really signaled a full recovery, finally pushing Disney past the billion-dollar mark again.
Tangled Is One of Many Live-Action Remakes Coming In Disney’s Next Wave
Given the popularity of these films, it’s not surprising Disney is revisiting its biggest hits with live-action remakes. While Tangled is a well-loved modern classic, Moana will be getting a live-action remake in theaters this year, with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson returning as the demigod Maui. Plus, a sequel to the original animated Moana film is also currently in the works.
Director Guy Ritchie, known for films like Sherlock Holmes, is set to remake Hercules for Disney, following his work on Aladdin. Disney also has several other live-action projects in development, including a new version of Bambi, a sequel to Lilo & Stitch, a spin-off series focusing on the villain Gaston from the 2017 Beauty and the Beast, and a sequel to Cruella that will essentially be a remake of the classic 101 Dalmatians.
A live-action version of Tangled is currently being made, though it doesn’t have a release date yet. Moana will arrive in theaters on July 10th.
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2026-03-11 18:44