Walt Disney Pictures has let down its hair and has found the starring leads for Tangled, the live-action adaptation of its 2010 animated movie.
The studio has chosen rising Australian actress Teagan Croft and Milo Manheim, star of Disney Channel’s musical Zombies franchise, for the respective parts of Rapunzel, the curious and plucky would-be princess with magical hair, and Flynn Rider, the cocky outlaw thief who helps her escape her tower prison.
Michael Gracey, who counts the musical biopics Better Man and The Greatest Showman among his credits, is directing the feature, which, like the original, will have big musical elements. Kristin Burr, who has long-standing ties to the studio and was a producer on last summer’s Freakier Friday as well as 2021’s live-action Cruella, is producing. Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (Do Revenge, Thor: Love and Thunder) wrote the script.
The decision comes after Disney sent up lanterns into the sky in the U.S. and the U.K. to find the feature project’s leads, with finalists screen testing in London in December before the winter holidays.
Now, Croft and Manheim step under the locks previously worn by Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi, who respectively voiced the parts in the original movie, now regarded as a modern classic and part of Disney Animation’s second renaissance.
The roles could have massive implications on the actors’ careers. A Disney live-action feature has the potential to become a billion-dollar worldwide hit — the live-action Lilo & Stitch was the year’s only billion-dollar hit until Disney’s animated Zootopia 2 came along. And it can cannonball a relative unknown into instant fame and open plenty of doors. But there is also the scrutiny that comes with playing beloved characters, especially from those who grew up watching Tangled on repeat, singing “I’ve Got a Dream” over and over in their living rooms. (The original movie grossed $591 million worldwide and spawned a successful Disney Channel series.)
Still, Disney is said to have been very deliberate and considerate in its choices and did not rush the process. The next major role to be up for consideration will be that of the villainous Mother Gothel, which at one point was going to be played by Scarlett Johansson.
Lucy Kitada is acting as an executive producer on Tangled.
Croft may perhaps be best known for playing Raven in the DC series Titans, which ran from 2018 to 2023, first on the short-lived platform DC Universe, then on HBO Max. She also starred in the Australian movie True Spirit, portraying Jessica Watson, the teenage sailor who attempted a solo journey to circumnavigate the globe. The 2023 movie streamed on Netflix.
Manheim, the son of actress Camryn Manheim, showed his musical chops over the course of four Zombies movies, the popular franchise that combines the undead with snappy songs about being in love and an outsider. In addition to also starring in Paramount+ series School Spirits, he starred as Seymour in a revival of Little Shop of Horrors.
