With as many rides and attractions as Disney has at its various parks around the world, it’s not surprising that many of the rides have been adapted into movies. From the original Tower of Terror movie to the blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Disney has spent nearly thirty years turning its most popular attractions into movies, with varying degrees of success. Even now, Disney isn’t showing any signs of slowing down, with a growing collection of theme park-inspired movies in the works.
Interested? Here’s a list of every Disney ride-inspired movie currently in production.
Haunted Mansion (2023)
The only entry on this list with a confirmed release date, the upcoming Haunted Mansion movie is Disney’s second shot at spooky success based on the Disneyland attraction of the same name. A remake of The Haunted Mansion (2003), the upcoming film stars Rosario Dawson as a single mom who moves into a fixer-upper mansion with some uninvited guests. In order to combat the supernatural threat, she hires a ghostbusting crack team played by LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, and Jamie Lee Curtis. Jared Leto, Winona Ryder, and Hasan Minhaj round out the star-studded cast of Haunted Mansion, which is set to release on July 28th, 2023.
Unnamed Pirates of the Caribbean Movie (TBA)
Despite all evidence to the contrary, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise isn’t dead in the water. Even after having the wind taken out of its sails by the highly publicized legal battle between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, Disney has confirmed that Pirates of the Caribbean 6 is still in development. They’re currently “noncommittal” about the possibility of Depp returning as Captain Jack Sparrow, though it has been confirmed that Joachim Rønning and Jerry Bruckheimer will be returning to direct and write the movie, respectively.
Interestingly, another Pirates of the Caribbean movie was announced in 2020 starring Margot Robbie and written by Christina Hodson (Birds of Prey), but that project has been run ashore and left for dead as of December 2022.
Space Mountain (TBA)
Space Mountain is one of Walt Disney World’s most popular rides, so it’s honestly a little surprising it hasn’t been adapted into a movie yet. Disney reportedly tried to adapt the ride into a sci-fi, futuristic horror movie in the ’50s, but that idea was scrapped before it left the development phase. Then, in 2020, Disney announced a new Space Mountain movie from Obi-Wan Kenobi writer Joby Harold.
Not much is known about the story for the new movie, though Disney has assured fans that it’s going to be a “family adventure.” Joby Harold will also produce the film along with his wife/partner Tory Tunnell under their Safehouse Productions banner, along with Alaadin’s Dan Lin and Jonathan Elrich.
Tower of Terror (TBA)
One of Disney’s more infamous rides, the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror in Disney’s Hollywood Studios drops guests down a 130-foot elevator shaft in the Hollywood Tower Hotel. The ride was the center of Disney’s first ride-themed movie, 1997’s Tower of Terror. In the original movie, journalist Buzzy Crocker (Steve Guttenberg) and his niece Anna (Kirsten Dunst) are hired to investigate the mysterious disappearances of five guests in the Hollywood Terror Hotel. Upon arriving, Buzzy and Anna discover that not only are the guests now ghosts trapped in the hotel, but the entire building has been under a dark curse as the result of a sixty-year-old mystery.
Not much is known about the upcoming remake of Tower of Terror, though Disney has confirmed that Scarlett Johansson will be starring in the film. Production of Tower of Terror was reportedly halted during Johansson’s 2021 lawsuit against Disney, but production resumed after the lawsuit was settled. Scarlett Johansson will also be producing the movie alongside Jonathan Lia.
Jungle Cruise 2 (TBA)
In 2021, Disney released the movie Jungle Cruise, based on the Disney Adventureland ride of the same name. Dwayne Johnson starred as skipper Frank Wolff, secretly an immortal conquistador bound to the Amazon River for all eternity. Emily Blunt stars as Dr. Lily Houghton, who hires Wolff as a skipper on her journey to find the mystical Lágrimas de Cristal tree, which has flowers that are said to cure disease, heal wounds, and break curses.
Following the relative success of Jungle Cruise, Disney announced that a sequel was in the works, with Johnson and Blunt both set to reprise their roles. Jaume Collet-Serra will return as director for the sequel, along with John Davis, John Fox, Beau Flynn, Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, and Hiram Garcia as producers. Disney has remained tight-lipped about the plot of Jungle Cruise 2, though we know that the sequel could answer a lot of the unanswered questions left behind by the first Jungle Cruise.
Big Thunder Mountain (TBA)
Another one of Disneyland and Magic Kingdom’s classic rides, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is one of the latest getting a silver-screen adaptation. A movie based on the wild west railroad-themed coaster was announced in 2022 and will be directed by Bert and Bertie, the duo behind Hawkeye (2021) and Our Flag Means Death. Michele and Kieran Mulroney have been put in charge of the movie’s script.
Unfortunately, we don’t know much about the Big Thunder Mountain movie, though many have compared it to the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, which had to create an original story around the relatively simple premise of the ride. Given the crew behind the movie, it wouldn’t be out of line to expect a slightly irreverent, humorous movie either, though we’ll just have to wait and see.
Figment (TBA)
To many longtime Disney fans, Figment the purple dragon is a favorite character. The center of Epcot’s Journey into Imagination with Figment ride, the little dragon first debuted in 1983 and has become incredibly popular in the decades since his arrival. His presence has even saved Journey into Imagination from closure multiple times, as fans of Figment were infuriated that Disney would attempt to get rid of the character. A popular piece of Epcot merchandise, Figment has appeared as a cowboy, a superhero, a knight, and an astronaut, but now he’s taking on his biggest role yet: a movie star.
Disney announced the development of a Figment-centric movie in September 2022. A plot has not been outlined yet, though it’s been confirmed that Seth Rogen will produce the movie under his Point Grey banner with screenwriters Dan Hernandez and Benji Sami.
