Caitríona Balfe is trading Fraser’s Ridge for a Disney kingdom with a new role in the studio’s live-action Tangled.
The Outlander star has been cast as Queen Arianna, Rapunzel’s mother, joining an ensemble led by Teagan Croft as Rapunzel, Milo Manheim as Flynn Rider and Kathryn Hahn as Mother Gothel. Just Jared reported the casting after Disney unveiled another round of details about the remake at D23.
Balfe’s casting was confirmed alongside Elliot Cowan as King Frederic and Patrick and Hugo McPherson as the Stabbington twins. Diego Luna is also part of the movie as Hawthorne, a new character created for the live-action version.
There is still one major thing Disney has not shown, Balfe herself as Queen Arianna. The first footage presented at D23 focused on Croft’s Rapunzel, Manheim’s Flynn and Hahn’s Mother Gothel, leaving the live-action royal parents for a later reveal.
Balfe Will Play Rapunzel’s Long-Lost Mother
Queen Arianna is Rapunzel’s biological mother and the wife of King Frederic. Her separation from Rapunzel is fundamental to the original story, with Mother Gothel stealing the princess as a baby and raising her in isolation while Rapunzel grows up unaware of her royal identity.
The studio’s official D23 announcement confirms Balfe’s casting without providing additional story details for the queen. Balfe, however, has already expressed her enthusiasm for joining the Disney remake. In an Instagram post quoted by Just Jared, she said she was “royally excited” to play Queen Arianna and had long loved Tangled.
“Thrilled to be playing Queen Ariana,” Balfe wrote, using a slightly different spelling of the character’s name in her post. “I’ve loved Tangled and I am so thrilled to be a part of this brilliant @disney film.” She also praised director Michael Gracey and the film’s creative team and teased one of the animated movie’s most memorable locations with, “Also … snuggly ducklings …”
The First D23 Footage Kept Queen Arianna Under Wraps
Although Balfe’s name was part of Disney’s new cast announcement, she did not appear in the first-look footage screened during the company’s Entertainment Showcase at the Honda Center in Anaheim.
Instead, Disney opened its first look with Rapunzel’s long blonde hair stretched across the ground before the camera revealed Croft in the character’s familiar purple costume. Hahn’s Mother Gothel received a darker entrance, with a long-nailed hand reaching from behind a doorway before the character emerged.
Entertainment Weekly reported that Manheim also appeared in costume as Flynn Rider. Croft and Manheim were unable to attend the presentation in person because they are currently filming the movie in Spain, but they sent a prerecorded message from production.
“We’re busy filming in beautiful Spain,” Croft told the D23 audience, while Manheim said the production has been traveling through “some very real and very beautiful places.” Hahn did attend in person and leaned into Mother Gothel’s warped view of herself. She described the character as “the best kind of villain” because she believes she is actually the hero.
Michael Gracey, whose directing credits include The Greatest Showman, is directing the film. Kristin Burr is producing through Burr! Productions, with Lucy Kitada serving as executive producer. Disney has set Tangled for an exclusive theatrical release on March 31, 2028.