Michael Gracey is in talks to direct the live-action ‘Tangled’ for Disney, Deadline has reported. A modern retelling of the Brothers Grimm’s classic Rapunzel fairy tale, ‘Tangled’ is described as a reimagining of Disney’s 2010 Oscar-nominated animated film of the same name, the studio’s 50th release. Plot details are being kept under wraps, but the movie is expected to follow in the same vein as the animated version. No casting announcement have yet been made.
In the original ‘Tangled,’ directed by Nathan Greno and Byron Howard, Mandy Moore starred as Rapunzel, a magical, golden-haired, spunky young princess who escapes her isolated tower to experience the world for the first time. She embarks on an adventure with a charming thief (Zachary Levi) and discovers her true identity while facing the dangerous truth about her captor (Donna Murphy). A pop culture phenomenon, the film grossed over $590 million worldwide, earned an Oscar nomination for the original song “I See the Light,” and was among the films that revitalized Disney’s princess genre for a new generation. Composer Alan Menken and lyricist Glenn Slater were behind the film’s score.
‘Tangled’, however, needs a new movie to expand the scope of the series, as the original has so far only been followed by the short film ‘Tangled Ever After,’ shown on Disney Channel, and the Disney Channel animated series ‘Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure.’
Nowadays, many movie companies are focusing on remakes of films that were successful in the past, and fans are not happy about it. Recently, the ‘Snow White’ remake faced significant backlash and was heavily criticized for its casting choices. Fans generally expect live-action remakes to stay true to the original story and feel disappointed when deviations occur. For example, concerns arose regarding ‘Snow White’ featuring a Latina actress in the lead role and removing the dwarves, a key element of the story. This led to ‘Snow White’ receiving over 700,000 dislikes on YouTube.
