Disney's Haunted Mansion Adds Jared Leto, Jamie Lee Curtis as Fan-Favorite Ghosts
Disney's upcoming Haunted Mansion reboot has added two more A-listers to its ever-growing ensemble. Tuesday, Entertainment Weekly confirmed both Jared Leto and Jamie Lee Curtis have joined the cast of the contemporary remake, joining the likes of Rosario Dawson, LaKeith Stanfield, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, and Tiffany Haddish. One Take News originally reported the scoop.
EW says Leto will play the Hatbox Ghost while Curtis will play Madame Leota, the psychic head trapped within an orb that follows you around the ride the film is based on. Haunted Mansion was first adapted into a live-action feature in 2003 led by Eddie Murphy. This time around, the film will be led by Dear White People's Justin Simien.
The ride first opened in 1969 at Disneyland and has become a popular ride at other Disney parks around the world. At one point, Guillermo del Toro was attached to the project to direct with Ryan Gosling leading, though that project fizzled out years ago.
"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. It's a tough balance, and I would be happy to report if we had the screenplay," the Oscar-winning filmmaker said in 2014.
He added, "We always feel like we are very close, but not yet. 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 make this movie as soon as we crack the screenplay, but until then we cannot tackle it. It is a movie I would love to direct, but I would be happy to just produce it if the timing is not right."
In this mysterious adventure, a doctor (Dawson) and her 9-year-old son (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 (Stanfield), a French Quarter psychic (Haddish) and a crotchety historian (DeVito).
Haunted Mansion will be released in theaters March 10, 2023.