Haunted Mansion Director Reveals How New Orleans Inspired New Movie (Exclusive)

Haunted Mansion director Justin Simien talks how New Orleans inspired the sequel as well as plans for a cinematic universe.

By Nathaniel Brail

Wait Disney Studios is preparing to release their next big movie later this week with the release of their Haunted Mansion reboot and fans of the franchise are excited to see what will happen. From everything we've seen in the trailers, Haunted Mansion looks like a good time at the movies and initial reviews are mostly agreeing with that sentiment. Haunted Mansion takes place in New Orleans and it seems that director Justin Simien was definitely inspired by the city. ComicBook.com's Brandon Davis recently had the chance to speak with Simien at San Diego Comic-Con and he revealed how the New Orleans ride inspired the reboot as well as if he's planning a Haunted Mansion universe.

"It's definitely the New Orleans one for this film anyway. Katie set the movie in New Orleans and my family's actually from Louisiana," Simien told us. "And my only tiny critique about The Haunted Mansion in Disneyland is that you go to New Orleans Square and it's just a little, let's say whiter than the New Orleans that I understood from my life and times. And I felt like, gosh, I think actually if you root The Haunted Mansion, that original one even deeper in an authentic New Orleans, it actually becomes more itself because that's the birthplace of jazz and spooky jazz and funny jazz and Cab Calloway and these people who were already blending horror and humor and sexiness and fun. And so that was kind of the goal for me. And you definitely get a sense that there's a wider universe and other mansions perhaps out there and other kinds of ghosts that could come in and out of the story. But the heart of this one is certainly the New Orleans mansion."

"I can't help it man, I can't help but fantasize. And making the movie we went through so many different iterations of different moments and I'll tell you this, it definitely has a door open for more. And for other spaces where ghost might materialize." The Haunted Mansion director added when asked about a potential universe.

What is Haunted Mansion About?

Disney describes Haunted Mansion as follows, "Inspired by the classic theme park attraction, "Haunted Mansion" is about a woman and her son who enlist a motley crew of so-called spiritual experts to help rid their home of supernatural squatters."

The film is directed by Justin Simien and is being produced by Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich. Katie Dippold penned the script and it will feature an all-star cast that includes LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson, Chase W. Dillon, Dan Levy, Jamie Lee Curtis and Jared Leto.

Haunted Mansion will arrive in theaters on July 28th! Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for more details on the Disney franchise as we learn it!

What do you think about Justin Simien's comments? Are you excited to see Haunted Mansion when it hit theaters later this week? Let us know in the comments below or by hitting up our writer @NateBrail on Twitter!

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