Casting is currently underway for Disney’s live-action Tangled, and The Hollywood Reporter has shared several names that have screen-tested for the leading role of Rapunzel in the film.
According to the publication, Zombies 4 star Freya Skye, Sarah Catherine Hook (The White Lotus), Teagan Croft (DC’s Titans), and Olivia-Mai Barrett (Apple’s Invasion) have all tested for the part of the golden-haired princess.
Milo Manheim, who starred as Seymour in the off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors and appeared in the Hollywood Bowl’s Jesus Christ Superstar earlier this year, has tested for the love interest Flynn Rider, as has Charlie Gillespie (Julie and the Phantoms) and stage star Gilli Jones.
In October, BroadwayWorld reported that Disney was moving forward with the live-action remake, following previous reports that it had been shelved. At that time, Scarlett Johansson was in the running to play the villainous Mother Gothel, but she is no longer attached to the role.
Filmmaker Michael Gracey of The Greatest Showman and 2024’s Better Man will direct the movie. The latest version of the script was penned by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, writer of Thor: Love and Thunder, Do Revenge, and the upcoming reboot of I Know What You Did Last Summer. No further information regarding casting or music has been announced, though it is expected that Alan Menken and Glenn Slater’s fan-favorite songs would be utilized. The movie is expected to begin filming in the UK next June.
Tangled, based on the classic story of Rapunzel, debuted in 2010 with the voices of Zachary Levi, Mandy Moore, and Donna Murphy and a score by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater. The movie follows Rapunzel, a lost young princess with magical, long blonde hair who yearns to leave her secluded tower.
The film earned $200 million in the US and Canada and was nominated for Best Original Song for “I See the Light” at the 83rd Academy Awards. Tangled later spawned a spin-off television movie and series, featuring the return of some of the voice cast and some new songs by Menken and Slater.
An abridged stage adaptation titled Tangled: The Musical premiered on board the Disney Magic of the Disney Cruise Line in 2015, featuring three new songs written by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater. A full stage version is also in the works.
Milo Manheim Photo Credit: Megan Clark
Freya Skye Photo Credit: Shervin Lainez
