Rapunzel Live-Action Movie in Development at Disney, Will It Be Tangled?
Courtesy of movieweb.com:
Disney isn’t going to stop with the live-action remakes and reimaginings until the money stops rolling in. With that in mind, it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise to learn that the studio is developing a live-action Rapunzel movie. While not billed as a remake, per se, it’s easy to imagine the studio might look to Tangled for inspiration in bringing this tale to the big screen again.
According to a new report, Ashleigh Powell (The Nutcracker and the Four Realms) has been hired to pen the screenplay for Rapunzel. No director is attached yet, but it’s said that a search is currently underway. No specific names have been revealed at this time. It’s also important to note that this is reportedly being developed as a theatrical release, not for Disney+. The streaming service played host to the Lady and the Tramp live-action remake when it launched last year, so it would be reasonable to assume something like this could end up there as well. Disney also has a live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch bound for Disney+.
Michael De Luca (Moneyball, Captain Phillips) and Kristin Burr (Christopher Robin, Cruella) are on board as producers. Zoe Kent (Lilo & Stitch) and Jessica Virtue (Mulan) are heading up the project on Disney’s side, with Lucy Kitada (Eleanor & Park) set to oversee the production. Disney has had tremendous success with live-action remakes/reimaginings in recent years with Alice in Wonderland, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King all making over $1 billion worldwide. The Jungle Book also got very near that mark. Cinderella and Maleficent were also majorly successful, with only the occasional financial misfire, such as Pete’s Dragon. Disney has reason to believe Rapunzel could do quite well, thanks to a little movie called Tangled that came out a decade ago.
Tangled, directed by Byron Howard and Nathan Greno, hit theaters in 2010. Starring Mandy Moore as Rapunzle and Zachary Levi as Flynn Rider, the animated adaptation of the classic fairytale as a major critical success and a huge hit with audiences. It grossed $593 million worldwide. Not only that, but it spawned a full-on franchise, with a short, Tangled Ever After, a TV movie, Tangled: Before Ever After, and ongoing TV show, Tangled: The Series. Why not try and bring that success full-circle again and bring the tale back to the big screen in live-action form?
Last year alone, Disney released three similar remakes with Dumbo, Aladdin and The Lion King. Mulan is up next, with the new take on the 90s classic set to hit theaters in March. Other projects in this same arena currently in development include The Little Mermaid, Pinocchio, Bambi, Aladdin 2 and Cruella, which focuses on the 101 Dalmatians villain Cruella De Vil, played by Emma Stone. We’ll be sure to keep you posted as any further details on the project are made available. This news comes to us via The Disinsider.
