Is this the beginning of the Haunted Mansion Ride Cinematic Universe? This fall, the Muppets meet the Mansion in a Halloween crossover special with the straightforward title Muppets Haunted Mansion. The announcement of this “terrifying tale of total scariness” (per Gonzo) is part of Disney’s Halfway to Halloween promotion, which should involve a few more “shriek peeks” today and tomorrow.
Disney bought the Muppets in 2004, and the entire run of the original Muppet Show is available on Disney+. Under Disney, there have been two Muppet movies, a brief attempt to revitalize a new Muppet Show, a reboot of Muppet Babies, and the streaming series Muppets Now.
And now the Muppets are going to the Haunted Mansion.
It’s a bit hard not to see this as corporate promo for the currently in development Haunted Mansion movie—the studio’s second crack at making the 51-year-old ride into a cinematic franchise. First there was the 2003 film starring Eddie Murphy; now, Justin Simien (Dear White People) is reportedly set to direct a new Haunted Mansion film from a script by Katie Dippold (The Heat, 2016’s Ghostbusters). The Haunted Mansion is definitely one of Disney’s more memorable rides (or maybe it seems that way to me because it got stuck the one time I rode it), but is it enough to build a franchise on? It sure seems like someone wants to find out.
Muppets Haunted Mansion will air on Disney+ this fall.
