Kathryn Hahn Says Fans Rooting for Her to Be Cast as Mother Gothel in ‘Tangled’ Was ‘Flattering’ and ‘Trippy’ (Exclusive)

Kathryn Hahn says fans wanting her as Mother Gothel in Disney’s live-action ‘Tangled’ was flattering and surreal as she prepares to sing and dance in the role.

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NEED TO KNOW

Kathryn Hahn tells PEOPLE that fans’ longtime wish for her to play Mother Gothel in Tangled made the eventual casting feel surreal

The actress says she knew fans had been rooting for her to take on the role

The live-action Tangled will release in theaters on March 31, 2028

Mother knows best and, apparently, the internet did too.

Kathryn Hahn is stepping into the role of Mother Gothel in Disney’s upcoming live-action Tangled, a casting choice fans had been dreaming about long before it became a reality.

For Hahn, 53, knowing audiences had been rooting for her to play Rapunzel’s famously manipulative mother made the whole thing feel a little surreal.

“I have knowledge of that! That people have wanted it. So it’s very humbling and flattering, also really trippy that it actually happens,” Hahn tells PEOPLE exclusively at the PEOPLE/EW interview suite at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event 2026 on Aug. 14.

Fans got their first official look at Hahn as Gothel at the presentation later that night, where Disney shared a message from Milo Manheim and Teagan Croft dressed up as their characters Flynn Rider and Rapunzel, respectively, from the upcoming movie.

“You manifested me playing Mother Gothel in the live-action Tangled, so thank you,” Hahn told fans at the event. “You were right! I am Mother Gothel. Stunning, hilarious, fab, kind, generous to a fault. Might be a little overprotective, but that’s because she cares so much. I love Mother Gothel. I love her. I love playing her. She’s the best kind of villain. She’s the kind who thinks they’re actually the hero.”

Hahn may already have one particular skill that makes her a natural fit for the larger-than-life role, at least according to her IMDb page.

“Well, for a second on my IMDB page, I think under my special skills, it says, ‘making faces,’ ” she jokes to PEOPLE. “So I feel like I’m already kind of a shoo-in for a live-action of an animated film. I am not afraid of going big.”

Kathryn Hahn/Instagram

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While Hahn will be playing a mother in Tangled, she isn’t necessarily looking to her own experience as a parent to portray Gothel’s complicated relationship with Rapunzel. When asked whether her relationship with her own children, especially her daughter, informs the character, Hahn is quick to draw a line between herself and Gothel.

“Not at all,” she says. “I have to ask my child, but I think there’s very, very, very little overlap.”

Hahn’s version of Gothel will also get to do something the actress hasn’t done much of professionally: sing and dance. The role comes with plenty of theatrical flair, from Gothel’s larger-than-life personality to Rapunzel’s impossibly long golden hair.

“She’s such a fabulous part, Mother Gothel, and she’s all the things. And I get to sing and dance and it’s all — climb up hair,” Hahn explains. “It’s all things I never thought I would be able to say I did in my life.”

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For now, Hahn is enjoying the chance to take on a role fans have been asking to see her play and put her own spin on one of Disney’s most memorable villains.

“Thank you so much for making these dreams come true. It’s crazy,” she adds.

Disney’s live-action Tangled releases in theaters on March 31, 2028.

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