Following the underwhelming box-office performance from its Snow White movie, Disney is now pumping the breaks on another live-action adaptation of an animated classic as sources confirm to Deadline that pre-production on the studio’s Tangled live-action has been halted. Based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale Rapunzel, that film had been in development with Michael Gracey on board to direct.
The original 2010 pic followed the magically long-haired Rapunzel who had spent her entire life in a tower, but now that a runaway thief has stumbled upon her, she is about to discover the world for the first time, and who she really is.
The film was into its pre-production stages as it had begun setting meetings with potential talent to star but after its Snow White pic disappointed at the box-office since its March 21 premiere, the studio is now reevaluating the strategy for other live-action adaptations in development. Snow White has grossed only $69 million domestically and $145 million worldwide on a production budget of $270 million.
Disney’s strategy of taking classic animated pics and turning them into live-action adaptations had been very successful over the years going back to Alice In Wonderland to Mufasa: The Lion King, which had grossed $720 million since its release in December. There have also been some misses with Snow White joining The Little Mermaid as live-action tentpoles that underperformed and have forced execs how to approach these films going forward.
The Hollywood Reporter was the first to report the news.
