A Popular Tangled Casting Theory Just Got Confirmed (And I'm So Hyped)

While not every Disney live-action remake becomes a hit, the ones that have tend to be massive box office smashes. One movie that is likely to be a strong contender to follow in the footsteps of Lilo & Stitch and The Lion King, based solely on fan reaction, is the upcoming live-action Tangled. The film had already cast its main leads with Teagen Croft and Milo Manheim as Rapunzel and Flynn, and now the film has found its villain in Kathryn Hahn.

Kathryn Hahn was rumored to be in talks to play Mother Gothel in Tangled, but when asked about the film recently, she remained quiet. She insisted that nothing was yet official. We then got a lot of interesting events in quick succession. First, Hahn's Instagram handle changed to "motherhahn" and her bio now reads "Mother knows best."

One might see this as only trolling or teasing fans. However, Hahn's new Instagram bio was then tweeted out by the official Walt Disney Studios Twitter account, which would seem to make it official. Though even that post didn't say anything.

Normally, these sorts of things are announced by press releases or other public statements that come before the social media content explosion. In this case, the official announcement only came after the teasers with another post from Walt Disney Studios, which confirmed that Kathryn Hahn will play Mother Gothel in the live-action Tangled. The actress appeared on video to show off her outfit for the day, which included an excellent t-shirt that I'm sure many fans will be looking to pick up.

The wording on the above post is perfect because, yes, I did want her to be the bad guy in this movie, and I was far from the only one. Hahn has been at the top of many fan cast lists for a live-actionTangled. It's hard to argue that Agatha Harkness and Mother Gothel don't have a similar vibe going on, and if Hahn can play one, she can absolutely crush as the other. Seeing her belt out "Mother Knows Best" is sure to be a showstopper.

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She seemed so perfect, it was honestly shocking that she apparently wasn't the first choice for the role. Scarlett Johansson was reportedly being eyed as Mother Gothel originally, though she eventually dropped out in favor of other projects. That opened the door for Hahn to take the part she seems truly perfect for.

With the major roles now locked down, the live-action Tangled will likely be going into production sooner rather than later. Milo Manheim has been practicing his smolder and working on his horseback riding skills. While Tangled doesn't have a release date on Disney's upcoming movie schedule, we could be seeing the film as early as next summer if production starts soon.