Walt Disney Studios will present a behind-the-scenes look at their new “Haunted Mansion” film during Midsummer Scream — Halloween & Horror Convention in Long Beach, California this July.
Midsummer Scream
Midsummer Scream will take place at the Long Beach Convention Center from July 28 to July 30, 2023. The “Haunted Mansion” panel will be on Sunday, July 30, Midsummer Scream shared on Instagram. “Haunted Mansion” is hitting theaters just two days before on July 28.
Happy Haunts Materialize! Behind the Scenes of Disney’s Haunted Mansion will feature the following special guests:
- Jonathan Eirich, Producer
- Jeffrey Kurland, Costume Designer
- Phillip Bartell, Editor
According to Midsummer Scream, the filmmakers “will discuss bringing Haunted Mansion to the big screen while sharing behind-the-scenes anecdotes and insight about the process of re-imagining one of the world’s most famous attractions into a brand-new motion picture experience!”
The panel will be hosted by Lauren and Trevor Shand, and Leone D’Antonio from The Boo Crew Podcast.
Passes are now on sale at MidsummerScream.org.
A New ‘Haunted Mansion’ Movie
The upcoming “Haunted Mansion” film follows a doctor (Rosario Dawson) and her 9-year-old son (Chase Dillon) moving into a haunted mansion in New Orleans. Dawson’s character ends up calling in a priest (Owen Wilson) to exorcise the manor. They also get help from a widowed scientist-turned-failed-paranormal expert (LaKeith Stanfield), a French Quarter psychic (Tiffany Haddish), and a historian (Danny DeVito).
Jamie Lee Curtis portrays Madame Leota and Jared Leto serves as the Hatbox Ghost. Curtis called the film “modern, fresh, old-fashioned, and scary, but not scary like a monster movie. It’s scary like a Disney ride, and funny. If you go on that ride, there’s a lot of humor as well as the scary, ghost-y stuff.”
During the “Studio Showcase Day 1: Celebrate the Magic of Disney and Pixar” panel at the D23 Expo 2022 in Anaheim, the new “Haunted Mansion” film debuted a trailer to fans. Director Justin Simien took to the stage to speak about the project and detail some of the cameos audiences can expect from Winona Ryder, Dan Levy, Hasan Minhaj, and more.
Previously, the “Haunted Mansion” film was due in theaters on August 11, 2023. However, the film’s release date was pushed up to July 28.
The Haunted Mansion
This classic Disney attraction can now be found at several Disney Parks around the world. The first iteration opened in 1969 at Disneyland as part of the New Orleans Square expansion. Two years later, it was an opening day attraction in Liberty Square at Magic Kingdom, and in 1983, it was an opening day attraction at Tokyo Disneyland, too.
The Disneyland Paris version of Haunted Mansion is named Phantom Manor, while at Hong Kong Disneyland, Mystic Manor is a completely different attraction that draws some inspiration from the original whilst avoiding references to the afterlife out of respect toward traditional Chinese cultural precedent.
The Haunted Mansion is full of famous ghostly characters like Madame Leota, the Bride, the subjects of the stretching room portraits, and the Hatbox Ghost.
The Hatbox Ghost was in the original Disneyland Haunted Mansion on opening day. Technology had not quite caught up to the ghost’s vanishing and appearing head, however, so the ghost only last a few weeks before disappearing for nearly 50 years.
The Hatbox Ghost returned to the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland in 2015. He appears at the end of the attic scene, after the Bride “greets” guests. He will soon be installed in the Magic Kingdom version of the Haunted Mansion.
Are you excited for this film? Let us know in the comments.
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