With the new The Jungle Cruise movie premiering in theaters and Disney Plus, some buzz surrounding the long-in-development revisit to the Haunted Mansion has started to come out. The 2003 Film, while not that bad, wasn’t seen as a critical or financial success compared to the other recent Disney film based on a Park Ride Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

The 2003 film starred Eddie Murphy as the lead, attempting to save his wife and two children from the clutches of a wrathful spirit from beyond the grave.

The ride opened in Disneyland August 9th, 1969, three years after the passing of Walt Disney. The ride was originally conceived as a “retirement home for Ghosts”. But when Walt died there was debate on how the ride would be presented due to Walt not being around anymore to make the call.

Half the team thought “make it actually scary” while the other half thought “make it family friendly” like many other rides.

Ultimately they went with a combination of both where some scenes were legitimately unsettling while others were rather fun. Though a legitimately “scarier” version does exist in Disneyland Paris’ Phantom Manor attraction.

Originally for this Haunted Mansion reboot, Oscar winning director Guillermo del Toro, was attached to helm the project, but usually whenever you see his name attached to a project there is likely a Fifty-Fifty chance that he’ll either back out or abandon it (seriously just look up how many projects he’s left). The original story for Del Toro’s Haunted Mansion would have apparently revolved around the popular “Hat Box Ghost” character.

Instead the project will seemingly be directed by Justin Simien, known for Dear White People and Kattie Dippold of the 2016 Ghostbusters will be writing the script…. Oh Boy. Also Tiffany Haddish and LaKeith Stanfeld are in talks to star in the film.

According to the Hollywood Reporter the story will: “Follow a family that moves into the titular mansion. Stanfield would play a widower who once believed in the supernatural but is now a rather lifeless tour guide in New Orleans’ French Quarter. Haddish would play a psychic hired to commune with the dead.”

Disney seemingly running out of animated films to remake will potentially retry adapting a number of their park attractions into films following the successful Pirates Film Series and the Jungle Cruise film.

What do you think of them attempting another Haunted Mansion? Are you looking forward to seeing the House filled with 999 Ghosts once again on the big (or small) screen?

Source: AV Club