TEAM MOVIE THOP
A lot of movies are based on comic books these days. Video game movies have continued to struggle. There have been several movies based on theme park attractions, however. Jungle Cruise, Disney's first theme park-associated film not titled Pirates of the Caribbean.
Was an unparalleled success last year. But Disney is continuing to push forward, with a new project based on Big Thunder Railroad, the wildest ride in the wilderness.
There are currently talks underway for Bert and Bertie to direct a Big Thunder Railroad movie, based on a script written by Kieran and Michele Mulroney, who previously wrote Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and the 2017 Power Rangers film. They directed four episodes of Hawkeye for Disney+ and Our Flag Means Death.
A Big Thunder Mountain Railroad movie is obviously too early to guess what it will be about, except that it will probably be a western, since that's the era in which Frontierland was built, and it will likely feature a runaway train at some point. Bert and Bertie's pitch is reportedly what sold Disney on them, so the idea, whatever it is, is already generating excitement.
Currently, there are seven projects based on Disney theme park rides under development or production. New Haunted Mansion featuring Owen Wilson and Tiffany Haddish will open next year. We only know for sure that we will get that one, but others are being worked on.
Pirates of the Caribbean movies are being worked on in at least two different ways. In one of them, Margot Robbie will portray a new pirate, while in the other, Jack Sparrow's story will be continued without Johnny Depp. The company has also announced plans to make a Jungle Cruise sequel following the film's strong pandemic-era success.
A movie based on the Tower of Terror was also in the works, and that movie is reportedly still moving forward despite the minor lawsuit drama between the two. A couple of years ago, there were rumors about a Space Mountain movie, but we don't know if that project is still active.
While Disney has had fewer hits than misses when it comes to turning theme park rides into movies (see: The Country Bears and Mission to Mars), it has had some big hits. In addition, many people enjoy the source material attractions, so if the movie is able to adapt it, there is certainly a market for it.