Walt Disney Studios is getting ready to make another big movie based on one of the Mouse House's classic rides next month after Jungle Cruise made a splash at the box office and premium streaming. Disney fans can get excited for another Haunted Mansion movie set to star Tiffany Haddish and Get Out actor LaKeith Stanfield. And with production about to begin, the movie has added another big star, most recently seen in Loki: Owen Wilson.
Having starred as the TVA’s Mobius, Owen Wilson has now been brought onto Haunted Mansion to play undisclosed character. The actor known for roles in memorable comedies such as Wedding Crashers, Bottle Rocket and Starsky & Hutch was received with open arms in the MCU, and it’ll be exciting to see how he’ll fit into the studio’s mysterious take on the spooky Disneyland ride.
Word of Owen Wilson’s check-in to Haunted Mansion comes from The Hollywood Reporter, which is describing the movie as a whole as an “ensemble.” In the coming weeks, I’d expect some more casting announcements to follow Wilson's. For now, we know the filmmaker behind Dear White People and Bad Hair, Justin Simien, is directing the movie from a script by Katie Dippold, who previously penned The Heat and 2016’s Ghostbusters.
In late July, Tiffany Haddish and LaKeith Stanfield boarded the Disney movie at the same time. According to THR’s report at the time, Haddish was being eyed to play a psychic, whereas Stanfield would play a “lifeless” tour guide who has lost his wife and has suspicions of the supernatural world. The movie is going to film in Atlanta and be set in the French Quarter in New Orleans, which goes well with the attraction being set in Disneyland’s New Orleans Square.
At this point in time, there’s a wealth of characters Owen Wilson could take on, between being another resident in and around the Haunted Mansion, or a character who visits or moves into the supernatural household. But since he’s just the third actor to be cast in Haunted Mansion, I have an inkling he’ll play a large role in the film.
Disney did make a Haunted Mansion movie back in 2003 starring Eddie Murphy, but it was a flop overall for the studio, making far less earnings than the smash success Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl in the same year, along with being buried with negative reviews. The studio has been attempting to put together a remake for the ride for over a decade, with Oscar-winning director Guillermo Del Toro once set to make a film starring Ryan Gosling.
Haunted Mansion will be one of many movies to be inspired by rides from Disney Parks coming from the studio. There are also film adaptations in development based on Space Mountain and a sequel in the works for Jungle Cruise, along with whispers of a Tower of Terror movie and more Pirates of the Caribbean installments.
