Credit: DisneyMickey Mouse has a new feature film coming, and the final trailer for it is…horrifying.
The iconic Disney mascot finally entered the public domain in the United States on January 1, 2024, after years of legal maneuvering by lawyers for the Mouse House to keep him private property (primarily via the infamous Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998).
Intensive lobbying got them another few decades, but at long last, the original Steamboat Willie (1928) and the very first incarnation of Mickey Mouse are free to use for anyone’s creative project.
The Walt Disney Company has been very clear that it intends to keep a strict eye on anyone using post-Steamboat Willie elements of Mickey Mouse (his trademark gloves, for example, which did not appear in the original short) and will likely sue them into smithereens.
Despite that, the character entering the public domain resulted in an immediate wave of projects featuring the character, and, for whatever reason, a whole bunch of those involve gore or grim horror.
Related: Disney Re-introduces Mickey Mouse After Public Domain Chaos
The Mouse Trap, an upcoming film directed by Jamie Bailey and written by Simon Phillips, was one of the very first projects announced when the public domain kicked in.
The movie is a “horror reimagining” of Steamboat Willie, with an official description reading, “It’s Alex’s 21st birthday, but she’s stuck at the amusement arcade on a late shift so her friends decide to surprise her, but a masked killer dressed as Mickey Mouse decides to play a game of his own with them which she must survive.”
A new (and final) trailer has been released for The Mouse Trap, and, well, it sure is horror:
Related: Mickey Mouse Horror Projects Shot Down By ‘Winnie The Pooh’ Slasher Director
The film stars Sophie McIntosh, Callum Sywyk, Allegra Nocita, Ben Harris, Mireille Gagné, Mackenzie Mills, James Laurin, Kayleigh Styles, Jesse Masmith, Madeline Kelman, Damir Kovic, Nick Biskupek, and screenwriter Simon Phillips as the Mickey Mouse murderer.
Director Jamie Bailey said in a statement (via The Hollywood Reporter), “We just wanted to have fun with it all. I mean, it’s Steamboat Willie’s Mickey Mouse murdering people. It’s ridiculous. We ran with it and had fun doing it, and I think it shows.” At the very least, that shows a certain amount of levity from the people behind this particular Mouse-related slasher project, which is more than some can say.
The Mouse Trap will be available on VOD platforms on August 6, 2024.
Why do you think people are making so many horror Mickey Mouse projects? Tell us below!