New ‘The Haunted Mansion’ Movie In The Works From ‘Ghostbusters’ Reboot Writer Katie Dippold
Time for the dreams of a Guillermo del ToroHaunted Mansionmovie to die yet again! The acclaimed filmmaker has been talking about making aHaunted Mansionmovie for Disney for years, and while it looks like the House of Mouse is now ready to give a new film take on the classic attraction a try, del Toro isn’t involved. Instead,Katie Dippold, who wrote theGhostbusterreboot andThe Heat, is tackling the script.
THRhas the scoop on the newHaunted Mansionmovie, stating that Katie Dippold is penning the film. THR adds that “Rideback, the banner run by Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich and was behind Disney’s billion dollar-grossingAladdinremake, is producing what is intended to be a live-action movie.” And honestly…I’m a bit disappointed here.
Nothing against Dippold. I actually liked theGhostbustersreboot! I just had my heart set on Guillermo del Toro finally being able to make this project. Del Toro has been pushing for it for years, and while I suppose there’s always a chance he could come in and direct Dippold’s script, I have my doubts. Also, Dippold’s background in comedy suggests that Disney is going to try once again to turn aHaunted Mansionmovie into something funny, and we all remember how that turned out the last time: not well.
In 2003, the same year Disney unleashed another film based on one of their rides,Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, they also released aHaunted Mansionmovie starring Eddie Murphy. And whilePirateswould go on to make big bucks and launch a franchise,Haunted Mansionwas a dud. Now it seems Disney is ready to try again, but it doesn’t sound like they learned anything from the first time. I’m not saying this should be a full-blown, ultra-scary horror movie. But taking a silly comedy approach – which seems almost guaranteed – just feels wrong.
The firstHaunted Mansionride opened in 1969, and went onto to become a big, iconic hit. There are versions of the mansion in Disneyland Park (Disneyland Resort), Magic Kingdom, and Tokyo Disneyland. And while I’m by no means a theme park guy, even I will freely admit thatThe Haunted Mansionride is wonderful, and I’d love to see someone make a good movie out of the material. Will that happen this time? I’m skeptical.
