Disney Revives ‘Tangled’ Live-Action Project With Scarlett Johansson In Talks To Play Mother Gothel

Disney’s live-action version of Tangled, which was in early development before being shelved indefinitely, has officially been revived. The film, which was put on hold due to the box office disappointment that was Snow White, has Scarlett Johansson in talks to star as Mother Gothel and Michael Gracey on to direct after being attached to the project previously, and Jennifer Kaytin Robinson on to write the screenplay.

The film was abruptly put on hold earlier this year, but the reasons for that were pretty obvious to anyone paying attention. Snow White’s recent box office performance was embarrassing, with $69 million domestically and $145 million worldwide gross on a massive budget that had ballooned to $270 million, the worst-performing Disney live-action film since Pinocchio. Labor strikes delayed the release and caused the budget to swell. On top of all this of that was negative press and backlash for a messy casting process and disappointing audience reception at the film’s debut and this is when Tangled was announced that it was among other projects put on an “indefinite” hold.

While Snow White was a huge setback for Disney, not all is lost. Lilo & Stitch proved that the older a classic animated film is, the more box office pull it still has. The Lilo & Stitch remake earned $1 billion globally when it was released in theaters last year. The film was helped by a viral Super Bowl commercial that has generated over 173 million views in 24 hours and has become Disney’s most-viewed video spot in digital history. The good box office performance for Lilo & Stitch is believed to have encouraged Disney executives to allow Tangled to move forward.

Scarlett Johansson could be a big factor in the excitement for the project. A staple of the Disney live-action family, Johansson has appeared in multiple franchises within Disney, including most notably Marvel’s Black Widow and as the voice of Dr. Kramer in the Jungle Book remake. Johansson was recently applauded for her directorial debut, Eleanor the Great, and her performance in the film at Cannes. She has become one of the studio’s more high-profile creative names in recent years.

Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and Aladdin found success, but Disney also had a string of misses like Dumbo and Maleficent. Snow White was more recent evidence that not every live-action project is going to earn a strong box office performance. Even The Little Mermaid was deemed middling, with a “disappointing” $570 million worldwide gross. Future projects like Moana’s live action adaptation also will help measure audience demand going forward. We will be waiting! In the meantime, whether Tangled ultimately lets down her hair or remains coiled in development will remain to be seen, but it seems that this could be the next project to climb the ladder.