Disney has cast Caitríona Balfe as Queen Arianna in its live-action remake of “Tangled,” filling out the royal parents at the heart of the fairy tale’s central mystery days after the studio confirmed a March 31, 2028 release date and screened first footage at its D23 Entertainment Showcase in Anaheim.
Elliot Cowan will play King Frederic opposite her, Disney announced, completing the couple whose search for their stolen daughter drives the story forward. Balfe, an Irish actress who spent eight seasons as Claire Fraser on “Outlander” and appeared in “Belfast,” steps into a part that carried real emotional weight in the 2010 animated original, though her screen time there was limited.
She joins a cast that already includes Teagan Croft as Rapunzel, Milo Manheim as Flynn Rider, Kathryn Hahn as Mother Gothel, and Diego Luna as Hawthorne, a character written specifically for this version. Twins Patrick and Hugo McPherson round out the ensemble as the Stabbington brothers.
Michael Gracey, who directed “The Greatest Showman” and “Better Man,” is steering the adaptation from a script by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson and Michael Montemayor. Kristin Burr, who produced “Cruella,” oversees the project through her Burr! Productions banner, with Lucy Kitada serving as executive producer. Filming has moved through several locations in Spain, including scenes shot at Burgos Cathedral.
Hahn appeared onstage at the Honda Center to introduce the footage, calling her villain “stunning, hilarious, fab, kind, generous — to a fault,” and joking that Gothel sees herself as the hero of the story. Croft and Manheim, working on location, sent a taped message to the crowd; Croft told fans they were busy filming in Spain.
The brief clip traced Rapunzel’s golden hair across cobblestones before revealing Croft in costume, then cut to Hahn stepping from a doorway as Gothel calls out for her captive. Disney filled the arena with floating lanterns, echoing the animated film’s signature scene.
Casting chatter ahead of the announcement had floated other names for Arianna, and reaction online split between fans disappointed by the pick and others praising Balfe’s pedigree. The original “Tangled” earned $607.6 million worldwide, with Zachary Levi, Mandy Moore, Donna Murphy, Ron Perlman, Brad Garrett and Jeffrey Tambor rounding out that voice cast.
