Disney’s Live-Action ‘Tangled’ Is Finally Happening — And They’re Actually Building Rapunzel’s Tower

After years of development uncertainty, false starts, and one very public pause, Disney‘s live-action reimagining of ‘Tangled’ has officially entered production.

The confirmation came not from a studio press release but from something more concrete: aerial photographs of Rapunzel’s iconic stone tower being physically constructed on location in Spain, images that have been circulating widely online since late June and generating a reaction that suggests the fanbase for this project has been waiting, very patiently, for exactly this moment.

The road to this point has been anything but smooth. The live-action ‘Tangled’ was first reported in development in 2020, formally announced in December 2024, and then placed on indefinite hold in April 2025 following the underwhelming performance of the live-action ‘Snow White.’ It resumed production in October 2025 after the blockbuster live-action success of ‘Lilo and Stitch’ restored the studio’s confidence in the format.

That context makes the current footage of a tower actually rising from Spanish soil feel like a genuine milestone rather than routine production news.

Filming is taking place at Ciudad de la Luz studios in Alicante, with production expected to run approximately eight months starting in late June. The photographs of the tower construction, shot from above and showing wooden flats built to resemble brick tower walls, have been shared widely and compared side by side with the original animated design, a visual conversation that speaks to how closely the production is hewing to the spirit of the source material.

Director Michael Gracey, who returns to the musical genre after helming ‘The Greatest Showman,’ spoke about the location, saying he was “thrilled and excited to be filming in Spain, which offers the perfect creative setting to bring the story of Tangled to life.” Lead star Milo Manheim has already arrived in Alicante, with social media posts from his mother confirming his presence in both Barcelona and Alicante and offering a first tease of his Flynn Rider hairstyle.

The ensemble assembled for the live-action reimagining has been one of the clearest signals that Disney is taking the project seriously. Australian actress Teagan Croft leads the film as Rapunzel, opposite Milo Manheim as Flynn Rider, the cocky outlaw thief who helps the princess escape her tower. The two were cast after a search on both sides of the Atlantic.

Kathryn Hahn, celebrated for her recent work on ‘Agatha All Along’ and ‘The Studio,’ rounds out the central trio as the duplicitous Mother Gothel. The casting choice has been received with particular enthusiasm, and Hahn has leaned into the moment, confirming her involvement through a characteristically cheeky Instagram video in March.

Rounding out the announced cast is Diego Luna, who joins in an all-new role created specifically for the live-action adaptation, a creative decision that signals the film intends to expand the world of the original rather than simply recreate it scene for scene. Luna’s trajectory through ‘Andor’ has cemented his reputation as one of the most compelling dramatic actors working in major studio films, and his presence adds a layer of prestige to what is already a well-appointed production.

The screenplay has been written by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson and Michael Montemayor, with production supervised by Jessica Virtue as EVP of Production for Disney Live Action. Gracey, whose credits include the musical biographical film ‘Better Man’ in addition to ‘The Greatest Showman,’ brings an established understanding of how to balance spectacle with emotional storytelling, which will be essential for a film that needs to honour the original’s beloved musical elements while delivering something that feels cinematically alive rather than illustrative.

The original animated film grossed over $592 million worldwide, earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song for “I See the Light,” and launched a Disney Channel series that ran for three seasons. The cultural weight of that legacy is part of what made the 2025 production halt feel so significant, and part of what makes the sight of that tower under construction feel so meaningful to the people who have been waiting for it.

No release date has been announced, but with eight months of filming ahead in Spain, Disney’s live-action ‘Tangled’ appears to be gathering real momentum for the first time.

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