It looks like Disney’s live-action Tangled movie could have unraveled a little after losing one of its stars. While it seemed at one point that the movie would be shelved entirely, it seems that the delays in the film’s production start have meant that it will now be looking for a new actress to play Mother Gothel.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Scarlett Johansson‘s stacked slate, which now includes a lead role in Mike Flanagan’s The Exorcist and Matt Reeves’ The Batman Part II, has meant she is no longer attached to play the movie’s villain. In the movie, Mother Gothel is responsible for keeping Rapunzel locked up in her tower to use her magical hair to remain youthful, and while it has been confirmed that Johansson was attached to the project, other movies have taken priority in her workload.
Currently, Disney is looking for their lead actress to play Rapunzel, with the article also listing a selection of stars that have reportedly tested for the role. Sources say this includes Freya Skye (Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires), Sarah Catherine Hook (The White Lotus), Teagan Croft (Titans), and Olivia-Mai Barrett (Invasion).
Disney Has Had ‘Tangled’ Tied Up in Knots
Tangled was first notably mentioned as being another Disney movie that could get a live-action reworking back in 2023. At the time, Shazam! star Zachary Levi suggested that he could play Flynn Rider in the movie, after voicing the character in the original movie, with Florence Pugh joining him as Rapunzel. That is clearly not and never was going to happen.
However, at the time, rumors swirled about who could be brought in to direct the movie, with Elvis and Moulin Rouge visionary Baz Luhrmann said to be wanted by Disney to bring the film to life. By December 2024, the film had instead enlisted Michael Gracey to direct, the man who turned Robbie Williams into a monkey in the bonkers but brilliant biography, Better Man.
Since then, the movie was said to have been shelved thanks to the terrible performance of Snow White in theaters, but resurrected after Lilo & Stitch became the year’s biggest movie in May. While it seems now that the on-off status of the movie has edged Johansson out of the picture, it could mean that Disney revert to what was rumored to be their original plan, with Agatha All Along star Kathryn Hahn coming back into the mix for Mother Gothel – something fans were really on board with when she was originally said to be on the short-list for the role a year ago.
It is clear that Tangled still has some lengths to go before it can arrive in cinemas, and considering, like many Disney live-action movies, it will have a lot of CGI work involved to bring the movie to life, we probably shouldn’t expect to see it arrive for at least a couple of years. Meanwhile, this year will test audiences’ interest in live-action remakes again when Disney releases Moana in the summer.
- Release Date
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November 24, 2010
- Runtime
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100 minutes