Disney’s ‘Haunted Mansion’ Cast Might Ghost Their Own Premiere

Some famous haunts have been making headlines lately. Between the Essence Festival in New Orleans, temporary closures of the fan-favorite Disney attraction, and whispers of a Hatbox Ghost entering the Parks, the Haunted Mansion houses plenty of media attention.

As Haunted Mansion closes in on its July 28 theatrical debut, Disney announced some ghoul-ing details about the film’s premiere. Directed by Justin Simien and produced by Dan Lin, Jonathan Eirich, Nick Reynolds, and Tom Peitzman, Haunted Mansion is Disney’s second stab at the attraction-based film.

Packing a star-powered cast, including LaKeith Stanfield, Owen Wilson, Tiffany Haddish, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson, Chase W. Dillon, Daniel Levy, Jamie Lee Curtis, Hasan Minhaj, and Jared Leto, the Haunted Mansion movie is said to be littered with Easter eggs, laughs, and of course, spooks.

According to Variety, the film’s premiere is scheduled for July 15 at the Disneyland Resort’s Hyperion Theater. However, with a looming SAG-AFTRA strike, the cast might just ghost the epic event.

The Show Might Go On

Hollywood has contended with its fiercest opponent yet over the last month: its writers. Forcing the annual Tony Awards to go scriptless and delaying big-budget projects like James Cameron’s Avatar sequels and major Marvel movies, the ongoing WGA strikes involving Hollywood writers have significantly impacted the film world.

SAG-AFTRA has joined the Hollywood fight, and President Fran Drescher has set a new deadline for 11:59 p.m. Wednesday. At the same time, negotiations about pay, residuals from streaming services, and honorable practices with AI tools are reached. With the first major movie premiere scheduled after the writers’ strike deadline being Haunted Mansion, Disney plans to pull some strings to ensure the show continues.

Based on claims in the  Variety article, Disney’s red carpet premiere will be held even if there is a SAG-AFTRA writer strike—with one major stipulation. The event will switch to a party for the fans, and the star-studded cast won’t be present.

As of July 6, the highly-anticipated appearance of the cast and crew was confirmed, but that could all change with a pending strike. However, Disney plans to host about 2,000 decked-out guests at the premiere whether or not a strike occurs. Food and drinks will be served at a 5:00 p.m. PST pre-reception, with the screening at 7:00 p.m. PST.

Disney Fanatic will provide updates on the upcoming premiere. In the meantime, Haunted Mansion fans might be met by ghost hosts on July 15.