‘As Black’ as Possible Disney Reboot Quietly on Track to Continue String of Disastrous

The director of Disney’s new film “Haunted Mansion,” stated he wanted to make the film “as black as possible,” in a recent interview.

Director Justin Simien sat down with Yahoo! Entertainment to explain his inspiration for the film and cited the city of New Orleans (where the film is set) as a big reason behind it.

“I wanted to make [the movie] as black as I can because that’s New Orleans,” he told Yahoo! Entertainment.

Director Justin Simien’s says ‘Haunted Mansion’ is the longest movie he’s ever worked on, consisting of 100+ days of shooting. https://t.co/uqXxFayyF6

— Yahoo Entertainment (@YahooEnt) July 29, 2023

“As a filmmaker, I have an incredible desire to bring the history of New Orleans and specifically black culture [to the movie].”

“This is the birthplace of jazz and the best food in the country. And all of our popular cultures come out of this time in New Orleans where black people and white people and indigenous people and the Spanish and all these people were free,” he continued.

“And it was short-lived, but it was long enough to produce this amazing, unique culture. And that was literally [number one] on my bucket list of things to bring to life and film.”

Simien added, “And luckily, Disney agreed. That’s why it’s here. That’s why I’m here.”

Disney previously released a PG version of “The Haunted Mansion” in 2003, which starred comedian Eddie Murphy in the lead and told a similar story of a family moving into a spooky Louisiana home.

But that version did not speak to Simien, as he cited he was already an adult when it was released.

Simien’s version is PG-13 and sports an all-star cast including LaKeith Stanfield, Rosario Dawson, Danny DeVito, Owen Wilson, Tiffany Haddish, and Jamie Lee Curtis.

While the director has previously been credited with “Dear White People” and “Bad Hair,” his foray into the reimagination of the popular House of Mouse ride, hasn’t had the warmest reception.

“Haunted Mansion” currently holds a 39 percent splat with critics on film site Rotten Tomatoes.

And possibly even worse, the film has failed to spook up box office sales. Costing over a whopping $200 million, the film has so far only earned roughly $30 million domestically.

There is a very real possibility that this latest Disney movie will result in financial loss. If “Haunted Mansion” is able to turn a profit, it would reverse a string of disastrous Disney films lately, all of which have helped contribute to the company’s massive woes of late.

Notably, a pair of recent films, “Lightyear” and “Strange World” have been particularly disastrous animated films for Disney that lost the company over a quarter of a billion dollars.