Fabien Frankel is an English actor known for playing soiled Kingsguard knight Criston Cole in House of the Dragon. Fabien Frankel is a handsome man. Some fans think he has the look of a Disney prince, and have long been dream-casting him in the role of Flynn Ryder in a theoretical live-remake of the studio's 2010 animated adventure Tangled. Does he actually look the part? You decide:
☀️💜 Escalem o Fabien Frankel como Flynn Ryder/José Bezerra no live action de Enrolados imediatamente. pic.twitter.com/DL6OHkrRQB
— Princesas Disney Brasil (@princesasbrasil) December 15, 2024
Tangled, FYI, is an animated adaption of the tale of Rapunzel, the one with the long hair. In the movie, Flynn Ryder is the dashing but arrogant thief who frees Rapunzel from her tower. He's voiced by Zachary Levi in the original movie. There have indeed been reports that Disney is working on a live-action remake.
I wasn't aware that there was a contingent of fans manifesting Frankel as Flynn, but Collider describes a "near-rabid campaign" to get him the role, so I guess I'm just out of the loop. It feels like even Frankel himself has heard of it. When he appeared over the weekend at a MegaCon Orlando panel, he shared that he'd bought the movie to watch the night before in his hotel, much to the shock of the other guy on the panel, Frankel's House of the Dragon costar Matt Smith (Daemon Targaryen). "You bought Tangled?" Smith asks, incredulous. "That's the musical cartoon, right? Oh my god."
I'M SHORT OF BREATH pic.twitter.com/KF8mnuHoel
— Liv ☾ (@Livmondcole) February 9, 2025
Farbeit for me to crap on anybody enjoying musical cartoons, but Smith's indignation is pretty funny. "It's very good," Frankel retorted. "I recommend it, it's terrific."
Notably, Frankel also says that, "I've been told to watch it." Told by his Disney-loving niece, or told by fans who think he would make a great Flynn Ryder? Or if we're guessing, maybe he was told by Disney executives who want him to do a screen test. Anything's possible!
The Tangled remake is in the early enough stages I'm not even fully confident saying that it will make it to the screen, although it probably will; Disney has been remaking its animated movies at a feverish pace for years and I don't see it stopping now. As for whether Frankel will be in it, we'll have to wait and see.
But Frankel will definitely be in the third season of House of the Dragon, which will be back on HBO and Max sometime in 2026.
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