Disney is once again materializing a new “Haunted Mansion” live-action movie, based on its Disneyland theme park ride.
After trying to bring the famous attraction to the box office back in 2003, and other attempts at a reboot being put in development, the studio has found another good spirit to bring the 999 haunts back to the big screen.
Director Guillermo del Toro was attached to a reboot of the property in 2010, even going so far as to co-write the script before the project was abandoned.
Screenwriter Katie Dippold has been tapped to pen the project. No stranger to ghosts on the screen, Dippold previously collaborated with Paul Feig on the 2016 reboot of Ghostbusters.
Disney previously adapted The Haunted Mansion into a feature film back in 2003, the same year that they released another theme park attraction based movie in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, but with little success. Eddie Murphy starred in the film which incorporated characters and even direct quotations from the Disneyland ride.
Disney used the ride as inspiration for its 2003 horror comedy “The Haunted Mansion” with Eddie Murphy portraying a workaholic realtor who buys a mansion that turns out to be haunted. The movie, directed by Rob Minkoff, grossed $182 million worldwide on a $90 million budget.
The film is being spearheaded by producers Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich and their Rideback production banner. Lin and Eirich previously saw success with Disney with the live-action reboot of the Aladdin remake which went on to gross over a billion dollars at the worldwide box office and kick start yet another new franchise for the House of Mouse.
After being postponed multiple times, Disney has announced that its tentpole film “Mulan” will bypass American theaters and go straight to Disney Plus next month.
Disney Plus now has over 60.5 million paying subscribers as of last month, just nine months after the launch of the direct-to-consumer streaming platform. And after several delays to its theatrical release date, Disney CEO Bob Chapek said that “Mulan” will premiere on the service on a “premiere access” basis on Sept. 4 for $29.99. The film will be released theatrically in markets in which access to the movie on Disney Plus is not available.
Chapek was quick to emphasize on the call with analysts that the “Mulan” release on Disney Plus is a one-time event.
“We’re looking at ‘Mulan’ as a one-off, as opposed to saying there’s some new business windowing model that we’re looking at,” he said.
“We find it very interesting to take a premiere offering to consumers at that $29.99 price and learn from it,” said Chapek, noting that they would study the number of transactions and the number of subscribers generated by the movie.
He also said that the premiere access window created on Disney Plus for “Mulan” acts as a “fairly large stimulus” for new consumers to sign up for the streaming service.
The halloween season is nearly upon us and Disney has released a new Hocus Pocus Mug and Spoon Set that will have you running amok amok amok!
The Sanderson sister-inspried might is in the shape of a cauldron and has an iridescent design with gold lettering that says “Hocus Pocus” with a high-gloss finish.
To complete the set, the mug comes with a wooden broomstick-inspired spoon so you can stir up trouble (and your pumpkin coffee or tea) in style.
The Hocus Pocus Mug and Spoon Set is available on shopDisney for $19.99. The mug holds 12 ounces, and even with the detailing, is dishwasher- and microwave-safe.
Since it’s available to ship right away, you can order it now so you’re guaranteed to have it in your hands when Hocus Pocus airs on TV for the first time in the fall season.
Pixar announced on Thursday that its next original animated feature film will be “Luca,” a coming-of-age tale about a young boy experiencing an unforgettable summer in Italy.
The film centers on a young boy named Luca who is secretly a sea monster from another world that lies just below the surface of the water. Appearing as a human, he meets a newfound best friend with whom he shares an unforgettable summer at a beautiful seaside town on the Italian Riviera, filled with gelato, pasta, and endless scooter rides. But Luca’s secret threatens this idyllic experience.
Take a look at some of the beautiful art from the film below:
Just Announced: Disney & Pixar’s all-new film “Luca.” Directed by Enrico Casarosa & produced by Andrea Warren, the film will introduce a boy named Luca as he experiences an unforgettable summer in a seaside town on the Italian Riviera. “Luca” opens in theaters summer 2021. pic.twitter.com/qXhnOVAFJ0
— Walt Disney Studios (@DisneyStudios) July 30, 2020
The film is directed by La Luna‘s Academy Award nominee Enrico Casarosa, who grew up where the film is set.
“This is a deeply personal story for me, not only because it’s set on the Italian Riviera where I grew up, but because at the core of this film is a celebration of friendship. Childhood friendships often set the course of who we want to become and it is those bonds that are at the heart of our story in Luca,” said Casarosa in a statement.
Walt Disney said Luca is set to open in U.S. theaters on June 18, 2021.
Jude Law is in talks to play Captain Hook in Disney’s live-action adaptation of its 1953 animated classic “Peter Pan.”
David Lowery is directing the pic from a screenplay he wrote with Toby Halbrooks, based on the J.M. Barrie novel. The film, which stars Ever Anderson as Wendy and Alexander Molony as Peter Pan, was among the shoots Disney paused on March 13 amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Disney’s 14th animated feature film and was an adaptation of J. M. Barrie’s story about a boy who never grew up. The three children of the Darling family receive a visit from Peter Pan, who takes them to Never Land, where an ongoing war between Peter’s gang of rag-tag runaways and the evil Pirate Captain Hook is taking place.
Disney has been on a roll of live-action adaptations of its classics. The studio’s already released new, blockbuster versions of Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Dumbo, in addition to releasing a hyperrealistic CGI version of The Lion King—which, like Beauty and Aladdin, grossed over $1 billion at the box office. The studio was set to release Mulan next, but the coronavirus has put those plans on hold, pushing Disney to delay the release from March to July, then to August 21.
Disney Plus has announced their “Summer Movie Nights” schedule, where the streaming service will release new original films and family-friendly classics every Friday.
The film industry has taken a big hit due to the The COVID-19 pandemic leaving movie goers to seek out content on streaming services and video on demand — and it looks like Disney+ is teeing up to be a formidable force in that.
Take a look at the entire line up below:
Friday, July 3rd – Hamilton
Friday, July 3rd – The Mighty Ducks
Friday, July 10th – X-Men; Days of Future Past
Friday, July 10th – Solo: A Star Wars Story
Friday, July 17th – X-Men: Apocalypse
Friday, July 24th – Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
Friday, July 31st – Incredibles 2
Friday, August 7th – X-Men
Friday, August 7th – The Peanuts Movie
Friday, August 14th – Ant-Man and the Wasp
Friday, August 14th – The Greatest Showman
Friday, August 21st – Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Friday, August 28th – Fantastic Four (2005)
Friday, August 28th – Alice Through The Looking Glass
The release Disney’s live-action Mulan remake is once again being pushed back due to a rise in coronavirus cases.
The film’s release was previously delayed due to theater closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and had been scheduled for July 24.
On Friday, Disney announced the film would now be released on Aug. 21. This is the second time “Mulan” has been pushed from its release date. The film was originally set to debut in March.
“While the pandemic has changed our release plans for Mulan and we will continue to be flexible as conditions require, it has not changed our belief in the power of this film and its message of hope and perseverance,” said Alan Horn, co-chairman and chief creative officer at Walt Disney Studios, and Alan Bergman, co-chairman, in a statement. “Director Niki Caro and our cast and crew have created a beautiful, epic, and moving film that is everything the cinematic experience should be, and that’s where we believe it belongs — on the world stage and the big screen for audiences around the globe to enjoy together.”
The film, which tells the tale of the eponymous Chinese warrior of legend, stars Yifei Liu, Donnie Yen, Tzi Ma, Jason Scott Lee, Yoson An, Ron Yuan, Gong Li, and Jet Li.
Disney’s Live-Action Remake Machine is in high gear! The studios has already turned out several successful remakes of their animated films, including Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, Maleficent, Beauty and the Beast, The Jungle Book and The Lion King and it doesn’t look like they are stopping anytime soon.
Disney’s proved winning model of remaking its animated hits already has several films in the can and is reportedly working on many more. We’ve put together a list of every Live-Action Remake Disney is currently working on or rumored to be in production.
Keep scrolling to see if your favorite Disney classic is getting the live-action treatment.
THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME
Tony-winning playwright David Henry Hwang is reportedly writing the movie, and Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz are said to be doing the music. Josh Gad is also reportedly producing the film.
The remake of the 1942 film won’t be live-action with a real deer, rabbit, and skunk. Disney will utilize the technology that helped bring “The Lion King” remake to life to look photorealistic. Geneva Robertson-Dworet (“Captain Marvel”) and Lindsey Beer (“Sierra Burgess Is a Loser”) will write the screenplay for the film.
ROBIN HOOD
A live-action version of the 1973 film will be heading to Disney Plus. The film follows the outlaw Robin Hood, a fox, and his friend Little John who steal from Prince John to give to the poor woodland creatures of the forest.
HERCULES
The 1997 animated film about the son of Zeus will get a live-action remake. “Avengers: Endgame” directors Anthony and Joe Russo will produce, but not direct, the film.
The live-action remake reportedly has a star-studded cast—and that’s no lie. In November, reports that TomHanks is set to play the famous puppet’s father, Geppetto surfaced.
PETER PAN
You won’t need faith, trust or pixie dust to see this remake. In 2016, The Hollywood Reporter claimed David Lowery is working on a new version of the 1953 classic. While a live-action film has yet to fly into theaters, fans can always watch other versions, like Hook, in the meantime.
SNOW WHITE
In 2016, The Hollywood Reporter claimed The Girl on the Train’sErin Cressida was in negotiations to make a live-action remake of Snow White. Benj Pasek and Justin Paul—from La La Land—were also allegedly set to work on the music. However, a film has yet to be released. So, we’ll just have to see if it will be the fairest of them all.
THE SWORD IN THE STONE
Last year, news broke that Juan Carlos Fresnadillo would direct the remake about a young King Arthur and his magical mentor Merlin. Game of Thrones‘ Bryan Cogman was also reported to be working on the script.
One of Disney’s famous villains is back. While Glenn Close played Cruella de Vil in the 1996 live-action remake of 101 Dalmatians, Emma Stone is reportedly set to take on the role in Cruella.
These films are all either in production or rumored to be in early stages of development. If your favorite classic animated Disney movie isn’t on the list then just wait, because it seems that they are on a mission to remake them all! Which one are you looking forward to the most? Let us know in the comments!
A live-action remake of Disney’s 2001 animated classic, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, is in the early stages of development by The Walt Disney Pictures according to reports.
Evidently, Disney intends to “stick fairly close to the animated film,” and it seems that Holland is being eyed to play the role of geeky Smithsonian cartographer Milo Thatch, initially voiced by Michael J. Fox in the 2001 animated version, according to MovieWeb.
The movie is in the early stages of development by Walt Disney Pictures, according to a source at The Illuminerdi. There are not many details about the movie and there is no report on who is being considered as the director and who will be cast in the film.
Atlantis: The Lost Empire follows an inexperienced young adventurer becomes the key to unraveling an ancient mystery when he joins up with a group of daredevil explorers to find the legendary lost empire of Atlantis. A naive-but-determined museum cartographer Milo Thatch dreams of completing the quest begun by his late grandfather, a famous explorer. When a journal surfaces, an eccentric billionaire funds an expedition, and the action shifts to high gear.
Atlantis: The Lost Empire is a 2001 American animated science-fantasy action-adventure film created by Walt Disney Feature Animation, marking the 41st entry in Disney’s animated features canon and its first science-fiction film.
Disney is now developing 101 Dalmatians prequel Cruella, starring Emma Stone and set for release in 2021, and The Little Mermaid, starring Halle Bailey and directed by Rob Marshall (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Into the Woods). Disney first releases its Angelina Jolie-starring Maleficent sequel, Mistress of Evil, Oct. 18 before debuting the live-action Mulan March 27, 2020.
A new behind-the-scenes Avatar 2 image has been released showing the cast of the sci-fi action film using u underwater motion-capture technology.
This week, the official Avatar Twitter account posted a photo showing stars Sigourney Weaver (Dr. Grace Augustine) and Joel David Moore (Dr. Norm Spellman) alongside producer Jon Landau on the set of the body-hopping sci-fi sequel.
The caption of the photo reads, “From the set of the Avatar sequels: Producer Jon Landau, Sigourney Weaver, and Joel David Moore revisited the Site 26 Shack to shoot scenes for the new films.” Take a look at the tweet below:
From the set of the sequels: @ZoeSaldana, Sam Worthington, Kate Winslet, and Cliff Curtis taking a break from underwater performance capture for a quick photo!
Fun fact: Much of the performance capture took place in this 900,000 gallon tank, built specifically for the sequels. pic.twitter.com/NSfqoZ6jXJ
The Avatar sequels are bringing back the original movie’s cast members Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Joel David Moore, Dileep Rao, Stephen Lang, Sigourney Weaver, and Matt Gerald. But there are several new cast members in the mix as well, including Kate Winslet, Edie Falco, Michelle Yeoh, Vin Diesel, Jemaine Clement, and Oona Chaplin. There’s also a whole group of young actors playing Na’vi children in the movie.
Avatar 2 is aiming for a December 27, 2021 release, and three more sequels are set to quickly follow in December 2023, December 2025, and December 2027.
