This year’sHaunted Mansionmovie is looking to bring the Disney Parks ride to life in a new and hopefully more profitable way than the previous attempt. It is two decade since Eddie Murphy led the last attempt to jump on the same kind of bandwagon success ofPirates of the Caribbean, and pretty much failed in every regard. Director Justin Simien is looking to chase away the demons of the 2003 by enlisting an ensemble cast and taking some lessons from Murphy’s heavily criticized bomb.
While discussing the movie withEntertainment Weeklyfor their summer preview, Simien said that there is one important aspect of the ride that had to be just right to set the feel of the entire movie and using Murphy’s movie as template of what not to do helped that. He said:
“[We looked at Eddie Murphy’s Haunted Mansion for how we could] go awry. We got down to the point where we were obsessing over the angle you first see the mansion when you walk onto the ride in Disneyland, when we see it through the gates and we see the pillars. That angle has to hit. That’s how specific we were. When you first glide through the dining hall and you see the waltzing dancers, that angle had to be right, because that’s the one where you gasp on the ride.”
Themain issues with Murphy’sHaunted Mansionmovie was abandoning many of the ride’s best attributes and instead attempting to make the film into a serious story that happened to take place in a haunted mansion. This time around, it is clear to see that is not the route being taken from just the initial trailer, which you can see below.
Related:How the Haunted Mansion Teaser Trailer Manifests Heightened Horror That’s Amazingly Family-Friendly
The Haunted Mansion Features A Huge Ensemble Cast
Pulling together a cast for a movie is always a tricky thing, and finding the right mix is essential to the success of any movie.Haunted Mansionhas certainly pulled no punches in bringing together an amazing group to give the Disney movie the best possible chance of success it could want.
That cast includes Rosario Dawson, Owen Wilson, Chase Dillon, LaKieth Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Dany Levy and Hasan Minhaj, as well as Hollywood veterans Danny DeVito,Jamie Lee Curtisand Winona Ryder. Let’s not also forget an appearance by Jared Leto as Alistair Crump/Hatbox Ghost.
Previously talking about his excitement about the movie, Simien said at the time of the first trailer’s release:
“As a lifelong fan of the Haunted Mansion attraction, I’m beyond excited to share the teaser trailer for our new film adaptation featuring an incredible cast. Our team has worked tirelessly to create a scary, funny and cinematic otherworldly adventure for both new and die-hard fans to enjoy! I can’t wait for audiences to experience this big screen version of the iconic Disney attraction.”
Disney have made the sensible decision to releaseHaunted Mansionon July 28, meaning that the film will likely hit Disney+ just in time to scare up a decent Halloween audience too.
