Disney reportedly talking to Kathryn Hahn about Mother Gothel role in live-action Tangled

Yesterday, we noted that—after a tiny little pause when it seemed for a second like people might be getting sick of watching movies they’d already seen before, but with different people and visuals attached to them—Disney was finally putting things in motion with its live-action Tangled remake, including formally announcing the casting of Titans star Teagan Croft and Zombies stalwart Milo Manheim as its leads. Everybody knew, though, that those names, while attached to characters that people have a lot of built-up affection for from the 2010 original, were not going to be where Tangled was going to be spending its serious money. That was going to arrive in the form of casting for the movie’s villain/archetypical Disney Bad Mom, Mother Gothel, a big, meaty part for an older A-lister to sink their teeth into. Blowing past reports that Scarlett Johansson was in talks for the role a few months back, THR is now reporting that a different Marvel alum is in consideration, asserting that the studio is apparently pursuing Kathryn Hahn for the gig.

On the one hand, casting the Agatha All Along star as a manipulative witch who hides behind a façade of care feels pretty on-the-nose, to the extent that Tangled fans have been aggressively fan-casting it for months. (It never pays, in our experience, to let those people get too comfortable with their belief in their own ability to control reality.) On the other hand, Hahn would absolutely kill it in the role of Rapunzel’s mother/kidnapper/exploiter, which requires a performer who can weaponize kindness and cruelty in equal parts, while keeping a nice, raging fire of contempt lurking at the back of her eyes. (Broadway star Donna Murphy played the role in the animated film.)

THR notes that Disney hasn’t commented on the negotiation rumors. Michael Gracey’s live-action remake of the well-loved animated flick has yet to secure a space on the studio’s already pretty packed film schedule, which currently extends through 2029.

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