New Haunted Mansion Movie Teaser Offers Behind-the-Scenes Look

The all-new Haunted Mansion movie reboot is coming to theaters next month and we’ve seen some incredible footage already. It’s no secret that we are not fond of remakes here at Disney Dining. Let the past be the past.  We’d prefer original stories. The Haunted Mansion, though, is an exception.  This is one remake we welcome with open arms…as long as they fix their mistakes from the first time around. 

Credit: Disney

Let’s face it: the first Haunted Mansion movie was bad. It was bad for a lot of reasons, casting, storyline, and tone being the chief mistakes. With the exception of Master Gracey and Madam Leota, the film had little to do with the Haunted Mansion we all know and love. We wanted the 2003 film to take us into the ride and flesh out the details. Instead they just took character names and created a cheesy pseudo comedic and not at all scary film that had a lot of potential and yet fell flat. It was hard to take Eddie Murphy seriously in the role and the whole thing felt low budget. It didn’t even resemble the ride. Our Haunted Mansion deserves better. 

Credit: Disney

Now, it appears the world’s most famous Haunted house is finally getting the story it deserves. The new film is a complete departure from the original. In a recent behind-the-scenes teaser the cast and crew share some insider information. When compared to the 2003 version, it’s a breath of fresh air. The film is staying true to its roots. Justin Simien said, “In Haunted Mansion, I wanted everything to feel as if it came right off the ride.” That is exactly what a movie based on a ride should feel like. We don’t want to have to do mental gymnastics to try and connect the two, it should be apparent. Actor Simien expanded on their dedication to accuracy by saying, “what we want to do is preserve the details that fans remembered and expand the universe around them.” 

Actor Owen Wilson, who plays a priest, said, “It was kind of exciting to see the Haunted Mansion come to life.”  We can’t wait to see how they bring the ride to life. If you’ve followed the blog for very long you’ll know that we are obsessed with Haunted Mansion backstories and fan theories (especially this one , this one, and this one). We are excited to see how the Mansion lore expands with the film. 

Credit: Disney

The film is apparently going to be scary which is a correction to the first film. The rating is PG13 as opposed to PG. Actor LaKeith Stanfield said “it’s a unique story with lots of moments of levity and fun and there’s a lot of scares as well.” Judging the by the teaser trailer there appear to be some intense scenes. On a scale from Casper to Insidious we’d rate it somewhere in the lower mid-range which is perfect for the ride because it isn’t super scary but unlike the 2903 movie, it isn’t cheesy either. 

The film portrays Rosario Dawson as Gabbie, Manion owner and mother to Travis (Chase Dillion). She enlists the help of a team of paranormal experts Ben (LaKeith Stanfield), Kent (Owen Wilson), Harriet (Tiffany Haddis, and Bruce (Danny DeVito) and Madam Leota (Jamie Lee Curtis) to rid her home of its undead residents. The star-studded team is up against an all-star cast of ghosts including, Jared Leto, Winona Ryder, Dan Levy, and Hasan Minhaj.

You can check out the latest teaser above. The film will be available only in theaters beginning July 28, 2023. We assume Disney will hold its Disney+ release until close to the Halloween season but nothing official has been announced.