At Comic-Con in 2010 director Guillermo del Toro announced that he will developed a new live-action adaptation movie of the Haunted Mansion. And then, no more news really but it's still in the scriptwriting phase of development. Recently Del Toro offered an update on the project:
"Two weeks ago, I went back to Disneyland with the executives with whom I am developing the screenplay," says del Toro. "It's a hard screenplay to crack. We've done it a few times. We are on our third or fourth draft, with 2 different writing teams, and I think the main thing is to try to combine everything that is great about the ride into the movie, and to make it a really intense but with a sense of fun - just like the ride."
Right now Del Toro is in the project as the writer and producer, but he's not ruling out the possibility of directing.
"It is a movie I would love to direct, but I would be happy to just produce it if the timing is not right."
The story is supposed to be built around the Hatbox Ghost and it seems like frequent collaborator Doug Jones is the frontrunner for the part.
"We have developed 50-60 pieces of art. We've developed maquettes of the Hat Box Ghost, over the body and face of Doug Jones, but we have not succeeded yet in cracking the screenplay. I have to believe that Disney will map this movie as soon as we crack the screenplay, but until then we cannot tackle it... We always feel like we are very close, but not yet."
Pictures: copyright Disney
