Disney’s Live-Action Tangled: What the Rapunzel Casting Shortlist Really Tells Us

Disney is quietly testing a new generation of actors for one of its most modern princesses. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sarah Catherine Hook, Teagan Croft, Freya Skye and Olivia-Mai Barrett are among the contenders to play Rapunzel in the live‑action remake of the 2010 animated hit Tangled, with Milo Manheim and Charlie Gillespie circling the role of Flynn Rider. It’s the clearest sign yet that Disney’s remake machine isn’t slowing down—it’s just climbing a different tower.

Rapunzel and Flynn Rider from Disney's animated Tangled looking out from the tower
Official still from Disney’s original animated Tangled (2010), now headed for a live‑action reinvention. Image: Walt Disney Pictures via The Hollywood Reporter.

The Rapunzel Shortlist: Who’s in the Tower?

The reported shortlist for Rapunzel leans young and TV-tested, which tracks with how Disney has cast recent leads: recognizable but not yet overexposed. Here’s a quick snapshot of the names in contention:

  • Sarah Catherine Hook – Best known for Netflix’s teen vampire series First Kill, she brings a mix of genre cred and dramatic chops, plus experience carrying a romantic storyline.
  • Teagan Croft – DC fans know her as Rachel Roth/Raven on Titans. She’s already familiar with fan‑driven IP and has that blend of vulnerability and steel Disney likes in its modern princesses.
  • Freya Skye – A relative newcomer internationally, she represented the U.K. at Junior Eurovision 2022, which makes her an especially intriguing option for a heavily musical role like Rapunzel.
  • Olivia‑Mai Barrett – British actor and singer with Disney Channel roots (Evermoor), giving her a pre‑existing relationship with the Mouse House and experience in family‑friendly fantasy.

From Disney’s perspective, this is a savvy mix: a Netflix‑familiar face, a DC streaming alum, and two U.K. talents with strong musical and Disney Channel credentials. If the plan is to keep the Alan Menken songs central—and it probably is—vocal ability will matter almost as much as chemistry with Flynn Rider.

Young woman with long hair lit by stage lights, evoking a musical casting audition
Live‑action princess casting now demands a triple threat: acting, singing, and instant franchise chemistry. Image: Pexels / cottonbro studio (royalty‑free).

Who’s Stealing the Crown (and Maybe the Crown Jewels) as Flynn Rider?

The THR report also mentions Milo Manheim and Charlie Gillespie as part of the testing process—likely circling the role of Flynn Rider, Disney’s smirking, self‑aware thief‑turned‑hero.

  • Milo Manheim – A familiar Disney face from the Zombies franchise, plus a solid showing on Dancing with the Stars. He has the musical background, the Disney brand halo, and the comedic timing for a quippy rogue.
  • Charlie Gillespie – Broke out in Netflix’s cult‑favorite Julie and the Phantoms, where he proved he can sing, play guitar, and do the moody‑but‑charming thing—all helpful for a live‑action Flynn.

Flynn is a deceptively tricky part. On paper he’s a riff on the classic swashbuckler; on screen he became one of Disney’s most meme‑able male leads. Whoever lands the role has to nail the comedy without turning the romance into a joke.

“I didn’t want him to be just the ‘prince.’ Flynn had to feel like the funny guy in your friend group who accidentally stumbled into a fairy tale.”
— Zachary Levi, voice of Flynn Rider in the original Tangled, speaking about the character’s tone
Actor in a rehearsal room reading a script and smiling, suggesting a charming rogue character
Flynn Rider needs charm first, smolder second, and a believable emotional arc most of all. Image: Pexels / SHVETS production (royalty‑free).

Why Tangled, and Why Now? Disney’s Remake Strategy in 2025

Tangled isn’t just another title in the vault. Released in 2010, it arrived during Disney’s hand‑off from the old fairy‑tale formula to the quippier, CG‑driven tone that would later define films like Frozen and Moana. Live‑action remakes have already tackled the ’90s juggernauts—The Lion King, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast—so shifting to early‑2010s nostalgia is the next logical step.

But the timing is more complicated. The last few years have seen audience fatigue with straight‑up remakes and a streaming landscape that’s friendlier to original storytelling. Box office returns for films like The Little Mermaid were solid but not stratospheric, and fan discussions regularly debate whether these remakes add anything beyond photorealism.

Tangled does offer a few advantages:

  1. A tight, character‑driven story that can scale to either intimate fantasy or big‑canvas musical.
  2. Visually distinctive elements—the glowing lanterns, magic hair, and Mother Gothel’s gothic glamour—that translate well to live‑action spectacle.
  3. A strong musical backbone thanks to Alan Menken and Glenn Slater’s songs, which already have theme‑park‑level familiarity.
Floating lanterns glowing over a dark night sky, reminiscent of Tangled’s lantern scene
The floating lantern sequence is practically engineered for a live‑action showpiece, from IMAX to Disney park tie‑ins. Image: Pexels / Porapak Apichodilok (royalty‑free).

The Big Creative Question: How Do You Adapt Animated Chaos?

Casting aside, the hardest part of a live‑action Tangled might be tone. The original walks a tightrope: it’s irreverent and modern, but still earnest enough to land the emotional gut punch of Rapunzel discovering her past.

Translating that to live‑action means choosing a lane between:

  • Heightened fairy‑tale theatricality, closer to 2015’s Cinderella, with rich costume design and lush sets; or
  • More grounded fantasy adventure, in the vein of Aladdin or Maleficent, where comedy and quips sit alongside darker visuals.
“The danger with these remakes is when you treat the original like a storyboard instead of a springboard.”
— A common refrain from film critics covering Disney’s live‑action era

Rapunzel’s hair and Mother Gothel’s age‑switching will also test the VFX team. Fans still remember the uncanny valley complaints around The Lion King; Tangled needs visual magic that feels tactile and story‑driven, not just technically impressive.

Storyboard sketches and concept art laid out on a table during pre-production
The leap from stylized animation to live‑action design is where many remakes either find their own identity—or lose the plot. Image: Pexels / SHVETS production (royalty‑free).

Music, Legacy, and the Shadow of the Original Tangled

Any live‑action Tangled will live or die on its music. Songs like “When Will My Life Begin?”, “I See the Light,” and “Mother Knows Best” are more than fan favorites—they’re part of the modern Disney canon, endlessly replayed in Disney parks and on streaming playlists.

Expect the remake to keep the anchors and possibly add a couple of new numbers for awards consideration and character expansion. That’s been the playbook since Beauty and the Beast, where new songs tried to deepen character backstories (with mixed results).

“We were trying to capture the feeling of classic Disney, but we didn’t want Rapunzel to feel like she’d stepped out of 1937.”
— Alan Menken on finding the musical tone for Tangled

That line—between classic and contemporary—will be just as important in 2025. Today’s young audiences grew up with both Pixar’s emotional realism and TikTok’s hyper‑self‑aware humor. If the remake leans too hard on nostalgia without updating its emotional language, it risks feeling like a very expensive cover version.

Music sheets on a piano with a microphone, suggesting film music recording
The right Rapunzel needs to sell both the comedy and the show‑stopping ballads that define Tangled’s legacy. Image: Pexels / cottonbro studio (royalty‑free).

Early Verdict: Cautious Optimism in the Kingdom

At this stage, all we really have is a shortlist and a signal: Disney believes Tangled has the cultural weight to justify a lavish live‑action remake. The names in the mix—Sarah Catherine Hook, Teagan Croft, Freya Skye, Olivia‑Mai Barrett, Milo Manheim, Charlie Gillespie—suggest the studio is chasing a balance of vocal talent, streaming familiarity, and long‑term franchise potential.

Whether audiences will climb that tower again depends on what happens beyond casting: who directs, how much freedom they’re given, and whether the film dares to adjust or deepen the original rather than just restage it. With Disney’s broader remake strategy at a crossroads, Tangled could either be a graceful evolution—or the moment the magic hair finally snaps.

Cinema audience watching a brightly lit fantasy movie scene
If Disney can recapture the emotional glow of the original, live‑action Tangled might be more than just another trip down memory lane. Image: Pexels / Tima Miroshnichenko (royalty‑free).