At long last, Disney is welcoming guests back to the Haunted Mansion, a fresh take on one of the company’s signature rides.
In some pretty huge news, comedian Tiffany Haddish (Night School, Bad Trip) and Oscar nominee LaKeith Stanfield (Get Out, Death Note, Knives Out, Uncut Gems) are in negotiations to star in the film, writes The Hollywood Reporter.
While story details are basically invisible, it will follow a family that moves into the titular mansion.
What we did learn today is that both actors are playing some interesting roles in Haunted 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,” and “Haddish would play a psychic hired to commune with the dead.”
Could this be somewhat of an origin tale where Stanfield becomes the iconic “Ghost Host”, a disembodied voice that acts as the guests’ “private guide through the cadaverous realm of an eerie haunted estate”?
And then Haddish’s role sounds extremely in line with the even-more-iconic Madame Leota, a headless entity of a psychic who’s encased in a crystal ball. Child’s Play franchise star Jennifer Tilly played the role in the 2003 adaptation.
Justin Simien, who previously helmed Dear White People and Bad Hair, is making his big-budget studio debut directing the feature project from a script by Katie Dippold. Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich of Rideback will produce. Rideback’s Nick Reynolds is exec producing.
The project is set to shoot in Louisiana this fall and not connected to the 2003 film that starred Eddie Murphy.
