In a recent AMA with Reddit, Guillermo del Toro revealed a few nuggets about the Haunted Mansion movie that was announced at Comic-Con in 2010. Back then, del Toro announced that he would be producing and most likely directing this movie. Now, four years and lots of speculation later, it has been confirmed that there is still progress on this movie… just not as much as some would hope. Here is what Guillermo del Toro had to say about the project:
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 takeaway is that work is still being done on this movie. The screenplay isn’t there yet but the technology is heading in the right direction as they continue to develop the face and body of the Hatbox Ghost over Doug Jones face and body. Once there is a quality story and screenplay, there will be more news. As for now, it will just be lots of rides through the Haunted Mansion for fans as they wait for news on this movie.
