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Credit: DisneyHaunted Mansion director Justin Simien revealed that the film was supposed to have a much darker ending, but Disney stepped in to prevent it. Here’s why.
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Based on one of the most popular Disney rides of all time, Haunted Mansion takes audiences into the Gracey Manor from Disneyland and puts them face to face with its spooky haunts alongside LaKeith Stanfield, Rosario Dawson, Owen Wilson, Tiffany Haddish, and Danny DeVito. It also features Jamie Lee Curtis as Madame Leota and Jared Leto as The Hatbox Ghost.
While everyone expected a movie about the mansion and some scary moments, nobody could have anticipated how it looks at grief and how a person can move on. However, that hopeful ending almost wasn’t the one we got. Instead, Disney stepped in to ensure it was more positive.
Disney Prevented Director Justin Simien From Going Darker in ‘Haunted Mansion’
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Haunted Mansion director Justin Simien pointed out that the movie’s ending wasn’t actually the original choice. Instead, Disney stepped in to end the picture on a more upbeat note.
“The epilogue [in the finished film] was certainly a late addition,” he said. “The first version of the movie that I encountered had a bit more of a darker ending, one that I actually really respected and enjoyed, but I correctly guessed that it maybe wouldn’t get past the sort of Disney machine.”
That being said, Simien revealed that Disney wasn’t the only reason that the ending changed.” But once we cast LaKeith [Stanfield], there was something that changed about what I personally needed from the ending of the movie. Frankly, I didn’t want to see a Black man have a tragic end in a movie like this.”
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“I wanted him to have hope at the end of the movie,” Simien continued. “And a tragic end for a black character would’ve been really hard to swallow, at least for me right now. So we went with something a bit more hopeful, but there was probably something to the other version as well.”
While a darker ending would have been interesting, the more upbeat ending is probably best, especially since the film is supposed to appeal to adults and children. That being said, it looks like it didn’t really help the movie that much since it hasn’t met box office expectations.
Would you have liked to see a darker ending to Haunted Mansion? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!