Having recently been haunted by reviews for his directorial debut Lost River you’d think Ryan Gosling may have had enough of being scared but news comes that’s he’s in talks to join The Haunted Mansion. Guillermo Del Toro is the man tasked with bringing the adaptation of the Disney theme park ride to the screen although at this stage it’s not certain he will direct the film but rather produce it.
Those already quivering in fear at the the thought of another Haunted Mansion film after the terror that was the Eddie Murphy film back in 2003 should rest easy given Del Toro’s penchant for chilling films. The writer currently putting the ghouls in the house is D.V. DeVincentis who had a hand in High Fidelity and Grosse Point Blank screenplays so you would expect a certain degree of comedic relief somewhere in there.
It’s not clear what story the film will take but then turning theme park rides into films worked out okay for Pirates of The Caribbean and hopes are high for Brad Bird’s Tomorrowland released later this year.
Del Toro said “It’s going to be a thrill ride for the whole family but it’s definitely going to be scary… Walt Disney is one of the creators of some of the scariest images in my childhood. People forget that he not only made sweet images but also images of nightmare. We need to honour that side of the legacy.” Which all makes it sound promising even if there is no word on what role Gosling could potentially take.
Before that Gosling will be seen later this year in Terrence Malick’s Weightless before starring opposite Russell Crowe in Shane Black’s The Nice Guys. He’s currently busy shooting The Big Short with Christian Bale and Brad Pitt, now there’s a cast worth swooning over. Del Toro meanwhile is putting the finishing touches to his other haunted house project Crimson Peak and in theory has a live-action Pinocchio film in the works along with Pacific Rim 2 and Hell Boy 3, so whether or not he’d have time in his schedule to direct The Haunted Mansion is up for debate. – Source – The Wrap