"And i hope it stays that way" - Internet reacts as Disney halts development for live-action 'Tangled'

The Hollywood Reporter claimed on April 3 that Disney has reportedly put a halt to a live-action adaptation of Tangled. This happened after the company was allegedly disappointed by the box office reception to its most recent high-profile remake, Snow White.

However, as soon as the news was uploaded on X by @PopCrave on April 4, it garnered reactions from netizens. They mostly spoke against the live-action remake of Tangled, with one saying that they hope it stays on hold.

“And I hope it stays that way,” one user wrote.

Additionally, others also said similar things as they mostly slammed Disney for their recent live-action remakes. One said that they don’t want any more live-action remakes, while another one said that, if the movie makers swap races in the movie, the audience will reportedly cancel the whole thing.

Here, the commenter seemingly referred to the live-action remake of Little Mermaid, which reportedly got backlash for casting Halle Bailey, an African-American actress, as Ariel, its lead character. Ariel is supposed to have white skin as per the original animated movie.

“Thank goodness. We need a break from live-action remakes,” another one wrote.

“Guess they couldn’t find the right hair product for the live-action version,” joked one user.

“If it’s another race swap they better cancel the whole thing,” commented one user.

Meanwhile, others spoke in favour of the original animated Tangled film, as one claimed that the animated version is perfect, while another said that the live-action remake should have perfect casting.

“If the casting isn’t good, we don’t want it…” said another X user.

“Good, the animated version is perfect,” another one echoed.

“They should perfect the casting! This is my absolute favorite Disney princess movie and I will not accept anything less than perfection,” said another user.

---

Disney puts pause on Tangled after Snow White bombed at the box office

Disney is reconsidering one of its next live-action projects, reportedly due to Snow White's poor box office performance. According to the same report by The Hollywood Reporter, the studio has stopped all pre-production on the 2010 animated movie version.

The 2010 Tangled, which had a $260 million budget, was one of Disney's highest-grossing animated pictures ever, earning around $600,000 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.

Additionally, it received largely favourable reviews from both audiences and critics. Fourteen years later, it was revealed in December 2024 that Michael Gracey, the director of The Greatest Showman, and Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, the writer of Thor: Love and Thunder, were reportedly working on a live-action Tangled remake.

However, now, given the current situation, the film's future is still uncertain. Additionally, as per the US Weekly report from the same day, although the live-action Tangled was still in its early stages of development, the adaptation was already controversial when the south-Indian actress Avantika was reportedly fan-cast as Rapunzel and received racial criticism.

Independent reported on April 4 that the animated film was partially based on the Brothers Grimm folktale Rapunzel and starred Donna Murphy as Mother Gothel, Zachary Levi as Flynn Rider, and Mandy Moore as Rapunzel's voice.

Tangled revolves around Rapunzel, a princess with enchanted long blond hair, who Mother Gothel hides from the entire world in a remote tower. Rapunzel then accepts the help of Flynn Rider, an outlaw, in order to learn more about the world outside her tower and her true origins.

Now, the announcement came as the live-action Snow White movie keeps losing money at the box office. The estimated production cost of the Rachel Zegler-starring movie, which debuted in the United States on March 21, was $270 million.

According to the Associated Press on March 23, Snow White made roughly $43 million in domestic ticket sales and an additional $44.3 million abroad on its first weekend of release, even though the studio had high expectations. Additionally, as per Box Office Mojo, the movie's global total as of April 4 was $146 million.

Meanwhile, Walt Disney Studios did not immediately respond to the comments on the reports.