Jamie Lee Curtis may be best remembered by many as a Scream Queen–but she’s not against combining shrieks with giggles, as she anticipates will happen when The Haunted Mansion hits theaters next year.
“I think they found the sweet spot of scary, funny, and adventure,” she said. Jamie Lee Curtis also compared the upcoming movie to its inspiration, which is Disney’s iconic dark ride that debuted in 1969. “It’s 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.”
Jamie Lee Curtis is set to play Madame Leota, the famed attraction’s psychic who summons the mansion’s ghosts early in the ride. The Haunted Mansion has a stacked, accessible cast so far, with Rosario Dawson, Owen Wilson, Tiffany Haddish, Jared Leto, and Danny DeVito onboard. Dan Levy and Winona Ryder are also part of the cast, although their roles have yet to be revealed.
Next year’s The Haunted Mansion of course isn’t the only adaptation of the ride. It follows 2003’s The Haunted Mansion (which really isn’t that bad) and last year’s The Muppets Haunted Mansion, which also finds a nice balance between cute and spooky, making it a low-key Halloween staple in the Disney+ circle.
After the controversy and reception of Halloween Ends, it’s nice that Jamie Lee Curtis has a positive outlook on her other quasi-horror-related movies. And judging by the cast and plot, The Haunted Mansion could be the sort of family-friendly fare to get the kiddos excited for spooky season. The Haunted Mansion is set for August 11th, 2023.
The official plot synopsis: “In this mysterious adventure, a doctor (Dawson) and her 9-year-old son (Chase Dillon), looking to start a new life, move into a strangely affordable mansion in New Orleans, only to discover that the place is much more than they bargained for. Desperate for help, they contact a priest (Wilson), who, in turn, enlists the aid of a widowed scientist-turned failed-paranormal expert (LaKeith Stanfield), a French Quarter psychic (Haddish) and a crotchety historian (DeVito).”