Edited March 4, 2023 to reflect updated release date.
Disney picked the perfect time of the year (halfway to Halloween!) to reveal some details about the new Haunted Mansion movie. Will it be live-action or animated? Will it be a remake of the 2003 movie or does it have a brand new plot? Most of all, will it be better than the first time a movie was based on its namesake ride?
We don’t know about that last one yet, but here are five things we do know so far about the new movie. Let’s check them out.
1. The Logo
See above. It’s much like the logo that graces the plaque on the entrance to the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland. Just perhaps spookified a bit.
2. Haunted Mansion Inspiration
Just like The Haunted Mansion with Eddie Murphy or the Muppets Haunted Mansion, the new movie is also based on Disneyland’s beloved theme park attraction.
3. Haunted Mansion Cast
The new movie is loaded with a star-studded cast, including some actors who have appeared in other Disney production company movies, such as Marvel. It will star LaKeith Stanfield (Knives Out), Tiffany Haddish (Bad Trip), Owen Wilson (Loki), Danny DeVito (Jumanji: The Next Level), Rosario Dawson (Zombieland: Double Tap), and Chase Dillon (The Underground Railroad).
4. Haunted Mansion Plot
In the 2003 version, realtor Jim Evers (Murphy) takes his family on vacation. However, ever the workaholic, he combines business with pleasure and makes a stop at Gracey Mansion, a house he’s been asked to sell. However, he and his family get stuck in the haunted house that doesn’t want to let them go and must work together to find a way out.
Like the 2003 version, the new Haunted Mansion movie will also be live-action, but the plot is brand new. Here’s the synopsis that Disney Parks Blog shared:
In this mysterious adventure, a doctor (Dawson) and her 9-year-old son (Dillon), looking to start a new life, move into a strangely affordable mansion in New Orleans, only to discover that the place is much more than they bargained for. Desperate for help, they contact a priest (Wilson), who, in turn, enlists the aid of a widowed scientist-turned failed-paranormal expert (Stanfield), a French Quarter psychic (Haddish) and a crotchety historian (DeVito).
5. Haunted Mansion Release Date
If all goes well, the release date will be Mar. 10, 2023. When Walt Disney Studios released the trailer on Mar. 2, 2023, they announced an updated release date of July 28, 2023. (It still means it’s almost 20 years to the date after the first one, which was released on Nov. 26, 2003.)
Haunted Mansion Teaser Trailer
Check-In
Are you looking forward to the new Haunted Mansion movie?
Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.