Disney Haunted Mansion Film in the Works

Comic-Con goers almost jumped out of their seats when they heard this one: A film based on the Haunted Mansion ride at Disney theme parks is in development, with none other than Pan’s Labyrinth director Guillermo del Toro at the helm. The announcement came following Disney’s Comic-Con panel for Tron: Legacy, catching some fans off-guard—and after last month’s news that del Toro had abandoned his role as director of The Hobbit. The film marks Disney’s second go at making a movie out of the Haunted Mansion ride. The first, which starred Eddie Murphy, was released seven years ago. (It was such a bomb that during the announcement, del Toro joked that he wouldn’t be returning Murphy’s calls.) There’s no word yet about who will star in the upcoming version, but del Toro says that the character of the hatbox ghost will be the focus of the film. "We're making it scary and fun,” he said. “But the scary will be scary."