Guillermo del Toro over The Haunted Mansion

Guillermo del Toro heeft naast Crimson Peak, Pacific Rim 2 en de onlangs aangekondigde zwart wit film ook Walt Disney’s The Haunted Mansion op het programma staan. De film van Del Toro welke gebaseerd is op Disney’s The Haunted Mansion heeft verrassend genoeg nog wat leven in zich. Het is twee volle jaren geleden dat we voor het laatst een update over de film hadden. Vier jaar sinds de aankondiging op Comic-Con. Tijdens een Reddit AMA bracht iemand dit project ter sprake en vroeg naar de status waarop hij reageerde:

“Well, I spent 2 weeks ago, I went back to Disneyland with the executives with whom I am developing the screenplay. It’s a hard screenplay to crack. We’ve done it a few times. We are on our third or fourth draft, with 2 different writing teams, and I think the main thing is to try to combine everything that is great about the ride into the movie, and to make it a really intense but with a sense of fun – just like the ride. It’s a tough balance, and I would be happy to report if we had the screenplay. We always feel like we are very close, but not yet. We have developed 50-60 pieces of art, We’ve developed maquettes of the Hat Box Ghost, over the body and face of Doug Jones, but we have not succeeded yet in cracking the screenplay. I have to believe that Disney will make this movie as soon as we crack the screenplay, but until then we cannot tackle it. It is a movie I would love to direct, but I would be happy to just produce it if the timing is not right. I, by the way, was named Guest for the Day for the Haunted Mansion the last time I did, which gave me unlimited access to ride the mansion several times during the day. Unfortunately it was just the moment my left knee decided to bust and I had to go back home with a busted knee.”

The Haunted Mansion is in 2003 al eerder verfilmd. De fantasyfilm, welke gebaseerd is op de gelijknamige attractie in Disneyland, werd geregisseerd door Rob Minkoff met in de hoofdrollen Eddie Murphy, Terence Stamp, Jennifer Tilly, Marsha Thomason en Nathaniel Parker. De film ging in première op 26 november 2003.