Director Guillermo del Toro ("Pacific Rim", "Pan's Labyrinth") knows who he wants for the lead role in his version of Walt Disney Pictures' "The Haunted Mansion." Actor Ryan Gosling ("Drive", "The Ides of March") is reportedly in talks to star in the film, according to TheWrap.
"[T]wo weeks ago, I went back to Disneyland with the executives whom I am developing the screenplay," del Toro said of the project in a Reddit AMA last fall. "It's a hard screenplay to crack. We've done it a few times. We are on our third or fourth draft, with 2 different writing teams, and I think the main thing is to try to combine everything that is great about the ride into the movie, and to make it a really intense but with a sense of fun - just like the ride...I have to believe that Disney will make this movie as soon as we crack the screenplay, but until then we cannot tackle it...We always feel like we are very close, but not yet."
Those screenplay issues have apparently been worked out and "The Haunted Mansion" now appears to be movie forward. Eddie Murphy previously played the lead in 2003's "The Haunted Mansion," though that film did not score well with critics.
We'll keep you posted once we know more about Gosling's potential involvement.
