In a move that’s sending shockwaves through fairy tale fandoms and reigniting the magic of one of Disney’s most beloved animated gems, 18-year-old powerhouse McKenna Grace has been officially confirmed to star as Rapunzel in the highly anticipated live-action adaptation of Tangled. Announced today, December 10, 2025, via a dazzling social media reveal from Disney Studios—complete with a first-look teaser of Grace’s flowing golden tresses cascading down a CGI tower—the casting news marks a pivotal step for the project, which has danced in development limbo since whispers first surfaced in 2020. Directed by Michael Gracey, the visionary behind the musical extravaganza The Greatest Showman, the film promises to blend the 2010 animated hit’s irreverent charm, toe-tapping tunes, and heartfelt adventure with the grandeur of live-action spectacle. “Rapunzel has been my dream role since I was a kid braiding bedsheets in my room,” Grace beamed in a statement to Variety, her eyes sparkling with that trademark blend of wide-eyed wonder and steely determination. “To bring her to life on the big screen? It’s like the lantern festival in my heart—pure, glowing magic.” As production gears up for a summer 2026 start in New Zealand’s lush landscapes, this casting coup isn’t just a win for Grace; it’s Disney’s bold bet on a new generation of princesses who sing, swing, and shatter expectations.
For the uninitiated—or those who grew up with the film’s iconic soundtrack on repeat—Tangled was a 2010 revelation, the 50th entry in Disney’s animated canon that raked in $592 million worldwide and snagged an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song with Alan Menken and Glenn Slater’s “I See the Light.” Loosely inspired by the Brothers Grimm fairy tale but infused with modern wit, it follows Rapunzel, a spirited princess with 70 feet of magical, glowing hair, kidnapped as a baby by the vain sorceress Mother Gothel. Locked in a hidden tower for 18 years, Rapunzel’s world expands when the roguish thief Flynn Rider (originally Eugene Fitzherbert) stumbles in, sparking an unlikely partnership filled with chases through glowing forests, brawls with bumbling palace guards, and a lantern-lit romance that tugs at every heartstring. Voiced by Mandy Moore in a performance that blended vulnerability with verve, Rapunzel became a feminist fairy tale icon: curious, courageous, and quick with a frying pan. Zachary Levi’s smarmy-yet-soulful Flynn added rom-com spark, while Donna Murphy’s scheming Gothel delivered villainy with show-stopping flair in “Mother Knows Best.” The film’s DNA—humor laced with heart, animation that popped like fireworks—made it a franchise foundation, spawning the short Tangled Ever After, the series Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure, and endless merch empires from doll lines to theme park rides.
Fast-forward 15 years, and Disney’s live-action machine—fresh off the mixed fortunes of The Little Mermaid‘s $569 million splash and Snow White‘s recent stumbles—sees Tangled as prime real estate for reinvention. Development kicked off quietly in 2020, with Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (Bodyguard sequel scribe) penning an early draft that amped up the adventure’s stakes: Rapunzel’s hair not just a healing glow but a conduit to ancient forest spirits, adding eco-fantasy layers to the tale. Baz Luhrmann’s name floated as director for his opulent musical flair, but Gracey ultimately snagged the helm, drawn by the story’s “audacious optimism” that mirrored his Greatest Showman ethos. “Tangled isn’t just a princess story; it’s a heist, a road trip, a love letter to breaking free,” Gracey told Deadline in a recent profile. Producers Kristin Burr (Cruella) and Emmy darling Lucy Kitada (The Baby-Sitters Club) are steering the ship, aiming for a PG-rated romp that honors the original’s irreverence while expanding Gothel’s backstory into a full-blown origin of obsession. Budget whispers hover at $150-180 million, with practical sets in New Zealand’s Fiordland National Park standing in for the film’s enchanted kingdom—tower climbs via harnesses, lantern festivals with drone swarms, and hair effects blending wigs, wires, and cutting-edge CGI to make those 70 feet flow like liquid gold.
Enter McKenna Grace, the pint-sized phenom whose resume reads like a YA dreamscape on steroids. Born in 2006 in Grapevine, Texas, Grace was a child actor savant, stealing scenes in Gifted (2017) as a math-whiz prodigy opposite Chris Evans, earning Critics’ Choice nods at age 11. Her Captain Marvel (2019) stint as a young Carol Danvers showcased pint-sized pluck, while The Haunting of Hill House (2018) revealed her horror chops, her wide eyes conveying spectral terror in the Crain family’s crumbling manse. Grace’s versatility exploded in 2024’s Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, where she reprised Phoebe Spengler with ghost-trapping grit and wry humor, helping the sequel net $201 million globally. Off-screen, she’s a polymath: writing music under the moniker “Madi Grace,” advocating for mental health via her “No One Left Alone” foundation, and even co-authoring a YA novel about time-traveling teens. At 18, Grace’s poised yet playful vibe—think freckles framing a mischievous smile—makes her Rapunzel incarnate: innocent enough for tower-bound longing, fierce enough for frying-pan fisticuffs. “I’ve sung ‘When Will My Life Begin?’ in the shower since I was eight,” she confessed in a 2024 Capital FM chat, manifesting her dream aloud. Fans have fancast her relentlessly, with TikTok edits of her Ghostbusters quips synced to Rapunzel’s rebellion amassing 50 million views. Now, with the official nod, Grace joins Disney’s live-action royalty: think Halle Bailey’s Ariel or Rachel Zegler’s Snow White, young stars shouldering billion-dollar legacies.
The announcement’s timing is fairy-tale fortuitous, dropping amid holiday hype and just months after Snow White‘s box-office blues raised eyebrows about Disney’s remake rush. Yet Tangled‘s track record—beloved without the dated tropes that plagued Snow White—positions it as a safer bet. Early concept art, leaked via insider sketches, teases a vibrant kingdom of floating isles and bioluminescent woods, with Grace’s Rapunzel in a lavender gown that nods to the original while adding corset-free flair for empowerment. Music is the film’s secret sauce: Menken and Slater are returning to remix classics like “I’ve Got a Dream” into pop-infused anthems, with original tracks penned by rising hitmaker Sabrina Carpenter (rumored for a cameo as a sassy barmaid). Grace, a trained vocalist from her Heathers musical dreams, will belt them herself—no voice doubles here. “Singing Rapunzel’s heart out? That’s the glow-up,” she joked in an Instagram Live, her golden wig already trending as a Halloween staple.
Of course, no princess pic is complete without its prince—or thief, in Flynn’s case. Whispers point to Mason Thames (The Black Phone, How to Train Your Dragon live-action) as the frontrunner for Eugene/Flynn, the 19-year-old’s boyish charm and roguish grin a perfect match for Levi’s animated swagger. “Mason as Flynn? We’d be chaos in the best way,” Grace gushed in a CinemaBlend interview, the pair’s off-screen rapport (they co-star in the upcoming Regretting You) fueling shipper frenzy. For Gothel, the witchy wildcard, Scarlett Johansson was once in talks but bowed out for The Batman Part II; now, insiders buzz about Nicole Scherzinger or Anya Taylor-Joy, someone with Murphy’s vocal venom and visual allure. Supporting roles tease diversity: a multicultural Snuggly Duckling crew, with cameos from original voices like Moore narrating a prologue. Gracey’s vision leans musical-heavy, with choreography by Greatest Showman‘s Ashley Wallen turning the film’s chase sequences into Busby Berkeley fever dreams—imagine lanterns swirling like La La Land‘s planetarium waltz.
Fan reactions have been a tidal wave of tears and cheers, crashing across socials since the 9 a.m. ET drop. X lit up with #McKennaAsRapunzel, fans posting side-by-sides of Grace’s Gifted braids and Rapunzel’s cascade: “She’s got the curiosity, the courage, and the curls—PERFECT!” one viral thread exclaimed, racking up 100k retweets. Reddit’s r/DisneyPrincesses erupted in a 10k-upvote megathread, debating hair logistics (“70 feet? That’s a VFX nightmare, but McKenna’s got the spirit to sell it”) and sequel teases (“Please, a live-action Tangled: The Series with her as queen?”). TikTok’s algorithm went feral: duets of Grace’s Ghostbusters ghost-busts synced to “Mother Knows Best,” challenges recreating the lantern duet with LED lights, and emotional essays from millennials who grew up with the film. “Tangled got me through lockdown—McKenna’s gonna make it eternal,” one user captioned a montage, hitting 20 million views. Even skeptics, wary after Pinocchio‘s 2022 flop, concede: “If anyone’s letting down her hair right, it’s this kid.”
Critics and insiders are equally enchanted. Deadline hailed the casting as “a stroke of casting sorcery,” praising Grace’s “chameleon range—from spectral scares to spectral songs—that could elevate Tangled beyond remake status.” The Hollywood Reporter speculated a 2028 release, slotting it post-Moana 2‘s wave-riding wave, with IMAX sing-alongs to maximize the musical mayhem. Disney’s live-action track record is a mixed bag—Beauty and the Beast ($1.26 billion) bewitched, Dumbo (2019) flopped—but Tangled‘s self-aware script and Gracey’s showbiz savvy could thread the needle. For Grace, it’s a coronation: her first lead in a tentpole musical, following Frozen Empire‘s ensemble glow. “Rapunzel taught me to chase lanterns, not likes,” she reflected in a People exclusive, hinting at the role’s personal pull amid her whirlwind career.
As New Zealand’s misty fjords prep for tower builds and hair rigs, Tangled‘s live-action leap feels like destiny’s braid. In an era of reboots that sometimes tangle threads, McKenna Grace as Rapunzel promises untethered joy—a princess unbound, ready to heal with a song and swing with a smirk. Disney’s kingdom expands once more, one golden strand at a time. Mark your calendars: the tower’s waiting, and the adventure’s just beginning. Who’s ready to let down their hair?
