Ryan Gosling in Talks to Join Guillermo del Toro‘s HAUNTED MANSION
According to The Wrap, Ryan Gosling is in talks to join Disney's big screen adaptation of Haunted Mansion, which is set to be written and produced by Guillermo del Toro. It's been a while since we've had an update on this movie, and it's good to know that the development of it is still moving forward.
Gosling and del Toro were photographed hanging out at Disneyland over Oscar weekend, and while they were there they rode the Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the Cars ride. You can see a photo here. I assume that's when they started talking about teaming up for this movie. I'd love to get a call from del Toro inviting me to Disneyland!
The Haunted Mansion project was first announced at Comic-Con in July 2010, and it's been slowly developing since then. The most current script is being written by D.V. DeVincentis (High Fidelity), and the plan is to turn it into a supernatural family film.
One of the main elements of the film will be the infamous Hatbox Ghost which was removed from the ride shortly after it opened because it was too scary. The last we heard they had developed maquettes of the Ghost, over the body and face of Doug Jones, who is the perfect actor to take on the role of the ghostly apparition. Del Toro talked more about the film and the character in a previous interview, saying:
“There’s a legend that it was discarded on the first day of the ride’s operation because it was too scary. I like that legend, but the reality is that the imagineers could not make the illusion work, so they took it out.”
Here's some additional information on the Hatbox Ghost:
Because The Hatbox Ghost featured prominently in artwork and narration for popular Haunted Mansion record albums sold for many years at Disney parks, and because Disney continues to market the ghost’s image, he has never been forgotten and has become somewhat of a legend, complete with cult following. Many fans of the ride wish to see him returned and have gone so far as to circulate petitions calling for the figure’s restoration.
Del Toro has not committed to directing the film yet, but he would if he was available to do it. If not, at least we know he had a heavy hand in developing it.
This isn't the first Disney production that Gosling would be a part of. The actor is a former Mouseketeer, and he co-starred in Disney’s classic sports movie Remember the Titans. He most recent wrote, produced, and directed a film called Lost River, which is being released by Warner Bros. on Friday.