Disney is giving “Tangled” fans what they want. After months of online pleas from fans for Kathryn Hahn to get cast as Mother Grothel in the upcoming live-action remake of the 2010 animated film, THR reports that the studio is in final talks with the actress to play the villain. The news comes on the heels of THR also reporting that Disney has their Rapunzel and Flynn Rider, too; Teagan Croft will be the former, Milo Manheim the latter.
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For Han, it’s another villainous role with a dark magic twist for her at Disney. She also starred recently as Agatha Harkness in two Marvel Studios series on Disney+: “Agatha All Along” and “What If…?“. Mother Gothel is arguably a superior role for the actress to Agatha Harkness, however. Not only does Hahn get to play the role of a vain, deceitful but charismatic fake step-mother to Croft’s Rapunzel, but she also gets one of the better Disney musical numbers in recent memory in “Mother Knows Best.” Expect Hahn to sink her teeth into this part with relish.
“Tangled” is the latest in Disney’s line of live-action revamps, a recent trend for the studio that, more often than not, has produced middling to terrible results. “The World’s Greatest Showman” director Michael Gracey gets to try his hand at crafting a successful one with this project. Elsewhere, Kristin Burr leads the film’s producers, with Jennifer Kaytin Robinson penning the script. Expect additional casting news for “Tangled” in the coming weeks.
Other recent roles for Hahn include the hit Apple TV+ series “The Studio,” for which the actress received an Emmy nod, as well as “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.” It’s worth noting that Hahn got a Golden Globe nomination for “Agatha All Along,” so she’s quite good at playing bad guys (or, rather, bad woman).
As for Croft, the Australian up-and-comer best-known role stateside is in the DC show “Titans.” Manheim’s credits include the “Zombies” film series on Disney Channel, as well as Paramount+‘s “School Spirits.”
