Welcome Foolish Mortals. Disney’s Haunted Mansion opens up for business later this month, and a couple of new clips further previews the family friendly horror comedy.
Disney’s new live action Haunted Mansion movie will be releasing in theaters on July 28, 2023.
Watch two clips from Disney’s Haunted Mansion below, which centers around a failed attempt to summon Madame Leota. Fans of the original dark ride might notice that the chair sending psychic (Tiffany Haddish) out the door resembles the ride’s Doom Buggy.
Justin Simien (Dear White People, Bad Hair) is directing the new live action adaptation of the popular, long-running Disney theme park attraction that’s home to 999 haunts.
Director Simien previously said in a statement shared with Bloody Disgusting, “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.”
LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Rosario Dawson, and Danny DeVito star, with Jamie Lee Curtis as Madame Leota and Jared Leto as the Hatbox Ghost.
Winona Ryder, Dan Levy, and Hasan Minhaj will also appear in the new movie.
“In this mysterious adventure, a doctor (Dawson) and her 9-year-old son (Chase Dillon), looking to start a new life, move into a strangely affordable mansion in New Orleans, only to discover that the place is much more than they bargained for. Desperate for help, they contact a priest (Wilson), who, in turn, enlists the aid of a widowed scientist-turned failed-paranormal expert (Stanfield), a French Quarter psychic (Haddish) and a crotchety historian (DeVito).”
The dark ride attraction, which launched in 1969 and is still going strong today at Disney parks, “sees theme park guests go inside a spooky and creepy manor that has a wide array of supernatural frights. It also features a graveyard’s worth of characters.” The most popular characters include Hatbox Ghost, Madame Leota, The Phantom and the Hitchhiking Ghosts.
Rob Minkoff directed the feature film The Haunted Mansion back in 2003, the first big screen adaptation of the ride. Eddie Murphy starred in the film. More recently, Guillermo del Toro was attached to adapt the ride for a brand new movie. Alas, it never came to life.
Katie Dippold (Ghostbusters 2016) is writing the new movie’s script for Disney.