It’s been a while since we last heard the eerie chime of the Hollywood Tower Hotel’s bell in Hollywood’s development pipeline, but fear not; Scarlett Johansson has confirmed that the Tower of Terror movie is still very much alive.
Based on the beloved (and spine-tingling) Disney Parks attraction, the upcoming film has long been shrouded in mystery, much like the ride itself. Now, after months, if not years, of silence, Johansson has offered a promising update that fans of the attraction and the star herself will want to hear.
Tower of Terror Movie Still Confirmed After a Long Silence
The Tower of Terror movie was first announced several years ago with Scarlett Johansson not only set to star, but also produce through her company, These Pictures.
The project was among the first signs that Disney continued to mine its theme park rides for cinematic gold, following in the footsteps of Pirates of the Caribbean and Jungle Cruise. However, the trail soon went cold.
After the initial excitement, updates became few and far between, especially following Johansson’s legal dispute with Disney over the release of Black Widow in 2021. Once that was resolved, both parties publicly confirmed that their creative relationship was still intact, with Tower of Terror specifically mentioned as a project moving forward.
And then… nothing. No casting news, no filming dates, and certainly no trailers. Just speculation and wishful thinking from Disney fans and film buffs alike. That is, until now.
Scarlett Speaks: Johansson Gives a Promising Update on Tower of Terror
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Johansson finally offered a long-overdue update on the project. “It’s a hard nut to crack,” she admitted, referring to the challenge of adapting the attraction’s lore into a compelling movie narrative. “Harder than you think, because the ride itself, there’s some lore to it, but it’s… I don’t want to say thin, but it is, kind of!”
Despite the creative hurdles, Johansson is optimistic. “It’s taking shape!” she said, emphasizing that development is very much ongoing. She described it as a “blue sky project,” suggesting that the team is still playing with creative possibilities and hasn’t settled on a finalized direction yet. Still, she remains confident: “We’ll crack the case of it.”
Haunted History: The Original Ride and Its Forgotten 1997 Film
This isn’t Disney’s first time trying to bring Tower of Terror to the screen. Back in 1997, a made-for-TV movie starring Steve Guttenberg and Kirsten Dunst took a swing at adapting the haunted hotel tale.
That version, however, stripped away its connection to The Twilight Zone, a key part of the ride’s DNA, and took a more family-friendly ghost story approach. It was charming in a ‘90s kind of way, but ultimately forgettable.
The original ride debuted in 1994 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando immerses guests in a twisted tale of five souls who mysteriously vanish after stepping into an elevator struck by lightning.
Set within the Twilight Zone universe, it blends eerie ambiance, storytelling, and practical effects to create a ride experience unlike any other. Over the years, international versions have appeared with different narratives and themes, but the Florida original remains a fan favorite.
Don’t Reinvent the Elevator
While Scarlett Johansson is right that the ride’s storyline is compact, it doesn’t mean there isn’t rich material to explore. In fact, the brevity of the source material is what makes it ripe for expansion, not reinvention.
Rather than distancing the film from its roots, Disney and Johansson might benefit from leaning into the ride’s existing mythology, especially its ties to The Twilight Zone. That eerie, anthology-style tone and the supernatural rules of Rod Serling’s universe could provide the perfect framework for a suspenseful, twist-filled feature film. Partnering with the Twilight Zone estate or CBS Studios could open creative doors that don’t require starting from scratch.
For now, fans of the Tower will have to wait in the metaphorical hotel lobby. But one thing is clear: the service elevator is moving again. Whether we’re headed into the fifth dimension or just back to development meetings, we’re excited to see where this ride goes.
