There’s nothing at Disney scarier than the Haunted Mansion. The Hatbox Ghost is among the most famous of the Mansion’s spooky residents. Granted, this is partly because of his reputation as the attraction’s “lost ghost,” but he’s a famous – or rather, infamous – spirit nonetheless. Fans of Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion can rest assured that the Hatbox Ghost is getting properly adapted for the upcoming 2023 film. Director, Justin Simien, revealed that Jared Leto’s take on the character is “terrifying.”
Actor and musician Jared Leto is no stranger to spooky, creepy roles. He recently played the supernaturally powerful vampire Dr. Michael Morbius in Morbius (2022). Before that, the Joker in Suicide Squad (2016). Leto was first cast as the Hatbox Ghost in the upcoming Haunted Mansion film in August 2022, along with Jamie Lee Curtis, Rosario Dawson, Danny DeVito, and a few others.
Haunted Mansion (2023) will feature Dawson as a single mother who, together with her young son (Chase Dillon), moves into the titular mansion in New Orleans. She hires a team of “spiritual specialists” to help clear the place of the spirits that haunt its halls. Jamie Lee Curtis will star as Madame Leota, a main feature of the Disneyland attraction, along with LaKeith Stanfield, Owen Wilson, and Tiffany Haddish.
‘Haunted Mansion’ Director Says Jared Leto ‘Knocked It Out of the Park’
Justin Simien’s decision to cast Jared Leto as the Hatbox Ghost caught some attention, given both Leto’s habit of extreme method acting and the Hatbox Ghost’s decades-long absence from the actual Haunted Mansion. Simien says Leto’s performance is more than suitably scary, with his tendency to go “full-on Hatbox Ghost” during filming.
It’s very surprising. You’d be shocked to know who it was until you’re told,” he told Entertainment Weekly in an interview. “”The character itself, it’s part digital, part physical performance. We’re trying to go for something scary that feels like it could exist physically in the real world, on the ride, but pushes the scare a lot further than the ride does. He knocked it out of the park. He’s very menacing and terrifying.
As far as the actual character is concerned, the Hatbox Ghost sports what could easily be called a “complicated” history. The ghost, which haunts the mansion’s attic, first appeared in Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion when it first opened in 1969. Described as “a cloaked figure with an evil, grinning face,” popular theories speculate that the Hatbox Ghost was either a victim or accomplice of Constance Hatchaway, aka the Black Widow Bride, who haunts the attic beside him.
Unfortunately, the Hatbox Ghost was removed from Haunted Mansion shortly after it opened. This was either because of a malfunction or because he was deemed “too scary” for a family-friendly attraction. The character wouldn’t return to Disney until 2015, following a nearly fifty-year absence. During this time, he developed a reputation as the ride’s “lost ghost.”
Disney’s Haunted Mansion is set to release in theaters on July 28, 2023. Are you looking forward to seeing Jared Leto as the Hatbox Ghost? Is there a particular spirit you’re excited to see hit the silver screen? Let us know in the comments!
