Rideback, the banner run by Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich and was behind Disney’s billion dollar-grossing Aladdin remake, is producing what is intended to be a live-action movie.
The Haunted Mansion debuted in 1969 and was an immediate success. The premise sees theme park guests go inside a spooky and creepy manor that has a wide array of supernatural frights. It also featured a graveyard’s worth of characters, ranging from the spirit of psychic medium Madame Leota to the skeletal Bride to the cloaked Hatbox Ghost.
Disney previously adapted the ride into a 2003 movie directed by Rob Minkoff and starring Eddie Murphy. The project took a broad approach to the material. The studio since has tried to reimagine the feature adaptation with Guillermo del Toro serving as co-writer and producer.
The trick with Haunted Mansion for Disney has always been the fine line balance of genuine scares, fun, and appropriate for the wide Disney audience.
Disney did exactly that when it first translated Pirates of the Caribbean to the screen in 2003. The movie launched a multi-billion dollar franchise and made execs look inward to see what other attractions could work as movies. It took some development, but next year finally brings Jungle Cruise to the screen. The movie, scheduled to hit theatres July 30, stars Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt.
Dippold was a writer on Parks and Recreation before seguing into movies, scoring a hit with The Heat, the 2013 action comedy that starred Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy. She worked on the all-female reboot of 2016’s Ghostbusters, combining laughs and scares, and also wrote Snatched, the action comedy that starred Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn.
Dippold is repped by Ziffren Brittenham.
