Disney relaunches Rapunzel in live action, Scarlett Johansson expected to be cast
The studio continues its business of adapting animated classics into live action.
After the billion gleaned by Lilo & Stitch in live action, Disney continues to push to adapt its animated classics into live action.
Moana live is already in the box. And should follow Rapunzel. Long discussed, the project was put on indefinite hiatus at the start of the year, but it is now back in development – and Scarlett Johansson is reportedly in advanced discussions to play a leading role. She will not be Rapunzelbut Mother Gothel, the manipulative witch who keeps the princess in her tower.
The studio stopped production in April, after the commercial failure of the remake of Snow White released in March. But the recent triumph of Lilo & Stitch restarted the machine.
According to several internal sources, Disney hopes that Rapunzel will benefit from the same attachment from young audiences: because Rapunzelas Moana Or Lilohas been a heroine that has remained very popular since the release of the film in 2010, which is also one of the most watched titles on Disney+. In 2024, the brand has even generated more than $2.6 billion in sales of derivative products around the world of the golden-haired princess.
Like the original animated film, Rapunzel will be inspired by the Brothers Grimm tale. The story follows a princess locked in a tower, blessed with magical hair, and rescued by a kind-hearted bandit named Flynn Rider. The 2010 film, voiced by Mandy Moore, grossed $592 million at the worldwide box office and spawned several spin-offs, including the short film Tangled Ever After (2012) and the series Rapunzel: the series (2017).
The director of The Greatest ShowmanMichael Gracey, is still in negotiations to direct this new version, from a screenplay by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson.
No release date or additional casting has yet been announced.
