Disney’s ‘Tangled’ Live-Action Movie Hits the Pause Button (Exclusive)

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Rapunzel is rolling back up her hair.

The live-action adaptation of Disney’s 2010 animated film “Tangled,” based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale heroine, has temporarily halted production, as reported by studio sources.

The project was actively being worked on, featuring Michael Gracey, director of “The Greatest Showman,” set to take the helm, and screenplay penned by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, known for her work on “Thor: Love and Thunder” and “Do Revenge.

The break in discussion follows the somewhat disappointing debut of Disney’s latest live-action remake, “Snow White.” The film has earned just $69 million domestically and $145 million globally, despite a production budget of $270 million (which rose due to 2023 labor strikes). From the outset, the movie was beset by controversy due to casting decisions and creative choices, and this was further exacerbated during its promotional tour by social media posts from lead actress Rachel Zegler. Unfortunately, “Snow White” has failed to impress both critics and audiences, with audiences giving it a B+ Cinemascore (anything below an A is seen as unsatisfactory). As of now, the film only holds a 50% rating on review aggregator Metacritic.

It’s still unclear if the production of Tangled will continue as planned or if it will go through a fresh creative approach instead.

Starting in the 2010s, Disney has adopted a strategy for live-action features that involves revisiting its classic library and remaking old titles. Some of these adaptations have been highly successful like “Beauty and the Beast”, “Aladdin”, and “The Lion King”, while others such as “Dumbo” and “Pete’s Dragon” didn’t fare quite as well. Lately, Barry Jenkins’ “Mufasa: The Lion King” had a modest start at the domestic box office with $35.4 million, but it gained traction and ultimately grossed an impressive $718 million worldwide. Previously, “The Little Mermaid” earned a relatively low $570 million.

But Snow White seemed to test the limits of that strategy.

Over the next 15 months, audiences will get a chance to see two more live-action adaptations of popular animated films from Disney, with each one showing potential signs of success. The remake of “Lilo & Stitch” from 2002 is set to hit theaters on May 23rd. A commercial shown during this year’s Super Bowl featuring Stitch running onto the field generated an impressive 173.1 million views in just 24 hours, making it Disney’s most-viewed digital ad ever. Additionally, the trailer for this live-action remake became the second most popular Disney live-action trailer of all time.

In the meantime, the live-action version of “Moana” is scheduled to premiere on July 10, 2026. This movie, which is a remake of one of Disney+’s most popular films, has racked up over 1.4 billion hours of viewing time – equivalent to watching it over 735 million times. Or, if you imagine playing the award-winning and Oscar-nominated song “How Far I’ll Go” non-stop for more than 50,000 years. Notably, this film will follow closely behind the release of the animated sequel, “Moana 2”, which earned $1 billion when it debuted last November, making it the third highest-grossing film of 2024.

The halt in production for Tangled coincides with some key architects of Disney’s live-action strategy departing from their executive roles, paving the way for new leadership. In February, Daria Cercek was appointed as the head of live-action theatrical films, now reporting to David Greenbaum, who took over as President of Disney Live Action and 20th Century Studios following Sean Bailey’s departure last year.

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2025-04-03 22:54