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Caitríona Balfe is not slowing down after Outlander. Disney announced at its annual D23 expo on Friday that the actress has been cast as Queen Arianna in the studio’s upcoming live-action adaptation of Tangled.
In the original 2010 animated film, Queen Arianna is Rapunzel’s biological mother and the wife of King Frederic, although she does not speak or appear in a major way in the movie. Rather, she became a core character in 2017’s animated television series spin-off, Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure, where she was voiced by Modern Family’s Julie Bowen. Still, Rapunzel’s separation from her parents drives the central conflict of the story: the villainous Mother Gothel steals Rapunzel as a baby and raises her in isolation, leaving Rapunzel unaware of her royal identity. Balfe shared her enthusiasm for the role on Instagram. “Royally excited by this one,” she wrote. “Thrilled to be playing Queen Ariana. [sic] I’ve loved Tangled and I am so thrilled to be a part of this brilliant Disney film.”
Balfe joins a cast that includes Teagan Croft as Rapunzel, Milo Manheim as Flynn Rider, Elliot Cowan as King Frederic, Kathryn Hahn as Mother Gothel, and Diego Luna as a new character named Hawthorne. The movie is scheduled to hit theaters on March 31, 2028.
The Tangled casting follows news that Balfe will star in Ascension, a psychological thriller for Apple TV+ executive produced and co-written by Alfonso Cuarón, in which she will play a documentary filmmaker who begins investigating a 20th-century cult. Next up on the big screen, she will appear as the Dashwood matriarch in a new adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility alongside Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles, followed by Tenzing, a biographical drama about Nepalese mountaineer Tenzing Norgay. She has also recently wrapped filming on The Housekeeper, a Richard Eyre-directed film in which she plays a character inspired by Mrs. Danvers from Rebecca, alongside Anthony Hopkins and Helena Bonham Carter.
Rachel King (she/her) is a news writer at Town & Country. Before joining T&C, she spent nearly a decade as an editor at Fortune. Her work covering travel and lifestyle has appeared in Forbes, Observer, Robb Report, Cruise Critic, and Cool Hunting, among others. Originally from San Francisco, she lives in New York with her wife, their daughter, and a precocious labradoodle. Follow her on Instagram at @rk.passport.