Ed Asner to Appear in The Muppets Haunted Mansion

Ed Asner, the award-winning actor who played Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and went on to become a TV, film, and animation icon, will appear in The Muppets Haunted Mansion, out next month on Disney+. The actor, also known for roles in Roots, Up, and Elf, passed away last month, and The Muppets Haunted Mansion will be his first post-mortem appearance on screen. Since his role in the movie is a cameo appearance, it was not previously disclosed, and does not appear on his IMDb page, where the prolific actor has a number of other projects in various stages of completion and intended for release in 2021 and 2022.

The role was revealed by The Muppets’ Twitter account. Like many other cast members, Asner appeared in a photo reminiscent of the pictures hanging on the wall in the eponymous Disney park attraction.

You can see the tweet below.

After Asner passed away last month, The Muppets shared a tribute to the actor, tweeting, “Ed Asner was a great friend of The Muppets. Few have ever been as funny, talented, and kind as he was. We will miss him dearly.” The star appeared in a 1993 episode of Dinosaurs, a show from The Jim Henson Company and conceived just before the Muppets creator’s death.

The Muppets aren’t the only take on the Haunted Mansion ride onscreen; there is currently a live-action movie in development, following in the footsteps of a previous adaptation of the ride starring Eddie Murphy. In the coming months, Asner is set to appear in The Premise, The Last Saturday Night, and Scarlett on TV, and in the movies Deadly Draw, A Fargo Christmas Story, Back Home Again, and Awaken. Other stars in The Muppets Haunted Mansion include Jeannie Mai, Danny Trejo, Chrissy Metz, Sasheer Zamata, Alfonso Riberio, Pat Sajak, Skai Jackson, Geoff Keighley, Justina Machado, and Craig Robinson.

This isn’t the only Halloween offering that Disney+ subscribers will be treated to this fall, as fans will also get to see LEGO Star Wars Terrifying Tales, the latest absurd exploration of the galaxy far, far away.

Stay tuned for details on Muppets Haunted Mansion before it premieres on October 8th.

Are you excited to see The Muppets Haunted Mansion, or glad to know we’ll get more Ed Asner in the months to come? Sound off in the comments below, or follow @russburlingame on Twitter to talk all things Muppets.