OAN Staff James Meyers
2:26 PM – Monday, April 7, 2025
Disney is reportedly hitting the pause button on a planned live-action remake of the 2010 animated hit movie “Tangled,” following the catastrophic box office ticket sales from the new “Snow White” film — according to multiple published reports.
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Multiple sources confirmed the report, but the first to publish the details was The Hollywood Reporter, an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries.
“Tangled,” a reimagining of the Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale “Rapunzel,” had been in active development, with director Michael Gracey already signed on to direct the film, from a script by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson — insiders told The Hollywood Reporter.
“Snow White” dropped to number four at the box office this week after a disastrous opening and overall lackluster showing. Meanwhile, the Disney film has earned $69 million domestically and $145 million worldwide, which means that the film hasn’t even earned back its estimated $270 million production budget.
According to Deadline, the movie was officially in pre-production and meetings with potential stars were already underway when the company announced that they were pausing the project for the time being.
Deadline also reported that the severe box office failure of “Snow White” was a significant factor in the decision to temporarily suspend production on the other planned live-action adaptation.
Nevertheless, the “flop” film had been under fire from the start.
In initial advertisements, the movie’s portrayal of the “seven dwarfs” had prompted much controversy, especially with notable Hollywood actors with Dwarfism, such as Peter Dinklage. Released scenes had also depicted the dwarfs looking much different to how the original story describes them — seemingly “diversifying” the characters.
Another ongoing issue revolved around the leading actress, Rachel Zegler.
During the production, Zegler made continuous controversial statements related to politics, such as the ongoing Israeli-Hamas war. This purportedly resulted in an uncomfortable set environment, as the film’s other leading actress, Gal Gadot, is Jewish and previously served in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).
In addition to Zegler’s outspoken criticism of the Israeli government, she has repeatedly targeted Trump supporters online—behavior that is risky for a leading actress, given that nearly half the country voted for Trump in the last election. Such remarks, including her previous statement, where she said that she hopes Trump supporters “never know peace,” most likely alienated a large portion of what could have been the film’s audience.
At another point, Zegler called the film’s “Prince Charming” character a “stalker,” and she warned that the new version of “Snow White” wouldn’t resemble the original in the slightest.
“We have a different approach to, what I’m sure a lot of people will assume is a love story,” Zegler said in part. “[Snow White is] not going to be saved by the prince and she’s not going to be dreaming about true love,” she continued. “She’s dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be and the leader that her late father told her that she could be if she was fearless, fair, brave and true.”
“Snow White” ended up earning a 44% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. In the past, Disney’s live-action remakes of “The Lion King,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Aladdin” each exceeded $1 billion globally. However, “Dumbo” (2019) was also considered a flop, as was “Pinocchio” (2022).
Nevertheless, two more upcoming Disney live-action remakes are still set to hit theaters — including “Lilo & Stitch,” a remake of the beloved 2002 movie. It hits theaters on May 23rd.
Next summer, fans will also be handed another live-action rendition of “Moana,” a franchise that has been both a streaming and box-office success. “Moana 2” grossed $1 billion after being released last November.
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