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What Is the Release Date for Haunted Mansion?
Watch the Trailer for Haunted Mansion
What Is the Plot of Haunted Mansion?
Who Is Making Haunted Mansion?
Who's Starring in Haunted Mansion?
The Walt Disney Company has become no stranger to adapting its original attractions into feature films. Certainly, the most well-known and successful example is the Pirates of the Caribbean series, which had a grand total of five films and created a modern pop culture icon with Captain Jack Sparrow. Since then, Disney has always been looking to make their theme park attractions into feature films, with examples including The Country Bears (2002), Tomorrowland (2015), and Jungle Cruise (2021). It's a concept that's showing no signs of stopping, with Hawkeye (2021) directors Bert & Bertie set to helm a film based on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The one ride at Walt Disney parks that should be a no-brainer to adapt though is the Haunted Mansion. With its iconic visuals and surprisingly deep lore, it should be the perfect candidate for a feature film, and Disney did try to capitalize on the popular attraction nearly two decades ago with 2003's The Haunted Mansion, starring Eddie Murphy. With a comedian like Murphy in the lead role, you could probably imagine that his take on the ride was very comedic. Now it's true that the ride has always had a very on-the-nose sense of humor, but the film adaptation lacked the creepy charm of the ride and leaned too heavily on the jokes, not to mention iconic characters like the Hat Box Ghost and the Black Widow Bride were nowhere to be found.
Director Justin Simien, the filmmaker behind Dear White People (2014) and a former Disneyland cast member, looks to make his own cinematic adaption of the beloved attraction, complete with a prestigious number of creatives and an absolutely star-studded cast on board. From what was shown at their presence at 2022's D23 Expo, it's looking to be an incredibly promising adventure-horror hybrid. To get the scoop on the information that was shared at D23 behind closed doors as well as everything else we know so far, simply continue to read below.
Editor's Note: This article was last updated on July 23.
Haunted Mansion
Comedy
Drama
Family
- Release Date
- July 28, 2023
- Director
- Justin Simien
- Cast
- Jamie Lee Curtis , Rosario Dawson , Tiffany Haddish , Winona Ryder
- Main Genre
- Comedy
What Is the Release Date for Haunted Mansion?
The spirits of the Haunted Mansion are set to receive your sympathetic vibrations on July 28, 2023. The movie was originally scheduled to release on March 10, 2023, then moved to August 11, 2023, and finally brought up to its present date. Tickets for the movie are now on sale so grab yours as soon as you can!
Related:First 'Haunted Mansion' Reactions Call it "Fun," "Spooky," "Full of Easter Eggs"
Watch the Trailer for Haunted Mansion
At San Diego Comic-Con 2023, Collider's editor-in-chief Steve Weintraub hosted a panel entitled "Directors on Directing" that featured Haunted Mansion's Justin Simien, appearing alongside directors Louis Leterrier (Fast X), Gareth Edwards (Rogue One). During that panel, we got the chance to bring you your first look at an exclusive clip showing LaKeith Stanfield's character entering the iconic Stretching Room. See it in the player above and expand this section to see all the other trailers and clips released so far for Haunted Mansion.
Fans of the legendary attraction were treated to the first public look at Haunted Mansion when the spooky teaser trailer premiered on March 2nd. The footage opens up with the character of Gabbie (Rosario Dawson) and her young son Travis (Chase W. Dillon) as they enter their new home which of course is the titular Haunted Mansion. It doesn't take long for them to realize that the home is infested with restless ghouls, leading to them contacting an ambitious priest (Owen Wilson), a down-on-his-luck tour guide (LaKeith Stanfield), and a wise medium (Tiffany Haddish) to uncover the mystery behind the unsettling abode. Also seen in the trailer are some recognizable ghosts from the ride, such as the Black Widow Bride and the Hat Box Ghost (Jared Leto).
We also got an extended look at the film when Justin Simien took the stage at the Disney & Pixar Studio Showcase at D23, he premiered an extended trailer introducing the characters and world of this new version of Haunted Mansion. Unfortunately for those who weren't able to attend the showcase, the footage was exclusive to the panel and hasn't been released online. Thankfully Collider's own Therese Lacson was in attendance and wrote an in-depth description of the footage reveal which you can check out by clicking here. To give a brief summary, the trailer opens by introducing the main characters of Ben, Kent, Gabbie, and Harriet, as they explore the mysterious mansion and eventually find a room that resembles that of the one that Madame Leotta resides in, otherwise known as the sorceress head trapped inside a crystal ball. The rest of the trailer shows more creepy ghost-like imagery and introduces even more wacky characters like an eccentric college professor (Danny DeVito).
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In the first full trailer of Haunted Mansion, we get a firmer grasp on what's to come. We see our cast of characters fully understand their situation and decide to fight back against the spirits that haunt their mansion. It's a solid look at the film's tone as we see a blend of his horror-like elements and sense of humor.
More recently, we got a new teaser for Haunted Mansion on June 8 that shows LaKeith Stanfield's Ben being introduced to the mansion, then moving on to scenes of various guests being spooked out by the mansion's ghostly residents.
A behind-the-scenes featurette was released online by Disney on June 23, 2023. The spot features Justin Simien and the cast talking about making the movie and paying tribute to the popular ride that inspired it. The trailer also revealed a new look at the Hat-Box Ghost. On June 28, Disney released a new teaser for Haunted Mansion to announce that the tickets are on sale. It also provides some more deliciously scary footage of the Hat-Box Ghost and you can see it in the player below:
Since tickets went on sale, Disney has released a steady stream of clips from Haunted Mansion and we also got a behind-the-scenes featurette featuring the director and cast. See it below:
A new trailer for Haunted Mansion was released on July 18, with a narration from Gabby that unfolds the spookiness of moving into the mansion. It then moves on to show us more of the cast, including a new look at the Hat-Box Ghost. Here it is:
What Is the Plot of Haunted Mansion?
Plot details are pretty thin and the trailer didn't do much to elaborate further on the general plot, but an official synopsis shed a bit more light on the film's story:
"A single mom named Gabbie hires a tour guide, a psychic, a priest, and a historian to help exorcise their newly bought mansion; after discovering it is inhabited by ghosts."
We already know that Gabbie will be played by Rosario Dawson (Ahsoka), LaKeith Stanfield's (Sorry to Bother You) Ben will be the tour guide and Owen Wilson's (Loki) Kent will be the priest, and we assume that Tiffany Haddish's Harriet is the psychic and Danny DeVito's unnamed professor is the historian.
As for the ghosts who are set to appear, we do know that the Hatbox Ghost will almost certainly be appearing. An infamous part of the attraction that only returned to the ride somewhat recently, Hatbox Ghost was heavily implied at the event to be played by Jared Leto (Morbius). We also know that the Bride will also be a part of the film, and she is a character that has quite the backstory. Most of the "happy haunts" in the Haunted Mansion are just that; happy. They might give people a good scare sometimes, but overall they're not malicious or cruel...except the Bride. Originally named Constance Hatchaway, it's heavily insinuated that she killed her husband (or husbands) and now stalks the mansion looking for her next victim. Both these infamous ghosts would be excellent choices for the main villain.
Related:The Hatbox Ghost Welcomes Foolish Mortals With SDCC Exclusive 'Haunted Mansion' Poster [Exclusive]
Who Is Making Haunted Mansion?
Initially, horror and practical effects legend and the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind The Shape of Water (2017), Guillermo Del Toro. Like many of Del Toro's projects, this one just wasn't meant to be for the accomplished writer/director, but Justin Simien is a worthy replacement. Simien has made a name for himself as one of the biggest rising stars in storytelling today, being involved with both the hugely successful 2014 Dear White People film and the critically acclaimed Netflix series of the same name. Simien is also set to have a long history with Disney, as he's also become attached to the upcoming Lando series.
Even though he's no longer directing the project, Del Toro is still credited with writing the screenplay for the film along with D. V. DeVincentis (High Fidelity) and Katie Dippold (The Heat) also co-writing. This is good news for those wishing for Del Toro's directorial vision of the film as this likely means many of his ideas will make their way into the film. Del Toro will also be involved as executive producer as well. The rest of the ghostly crew consists of composer Kris Bowers (King Richard), cinematographer Jeffery Waldron (Little Fires Everywhere), editor Phillip J. Bartell (Bad Hair), production designer Darren Gilford (TRON: Legacy), and costume designer Jeffery Kurland (Collateral).
Who's Starring in Haunted Mansion?
We've already mentioned most of the major leading characters set to appear, including LaKeith Stanfield, Owen Wilson, Rosario Dawson, Tiffany Haddish, and Jared Leto. Leto, who again is most likely playing the Hat Box Ghost, was one of many new casting revelations revealed at D23. The remaining cast members include Winona Ryder (Beetlejuice), Dan Levy (Schitt's Creek), Hasan Minhaj (The Daily Show) as a sketch artist, and finally, Jamie Lee Curtis (Halloween Ends), who made a grand entrance at the Studio Showcase in her very own "Doom Buggy". Curtis will be playing Madame Leota.
