Ryan Gosling will reportedly play the lead role for the upcoming flick, The Haunted Mansion, which is a collaboration between multi-awarded director and writer Guillermo del Toro and Disney, according to The Wrap.
According to the report, Gosling may potentially star in the supernatural family movie that has been in the works for roughly five years now. The screenplay is currently handled by D.V. DeVincentis, as previously announced when the project was revealed during the Comic-Con in 2010. Following the said announcement, del Toro himself admitted that creating a story centered on the particular attraction from the Disney theme park had been quite challenging for him and DeVincentis.
In a Reddit AMA last fall, the director shared that he and the executives involved in the project went back to Disneyland in an effort to gather more material for the screenplay. "It's a hard screenplay to crack. We've done it a few times," shared del Torro, adding that they were already on their third or fourth draft. Moreover, he disclosed that the screenplay was being worked on by two different teams of writers to presumably produce stellar results.
"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," del Torro explained, referring to the teams' desire to come up with a screenplay that reflect such sentiments. "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," he added.
With the recent announcement of Gosling's involvement in the film, it appears that the major roadblock involving the script has already been overcome by the team. Although this is very exciting news to those eagerly awaiting for the movie's production to finally move forward, it should be noted that neither Gosling nor del Toro actually confirmed the report.
Known for being a talented director and writer, del Toro has been acclaimed for serving as the man who brought to life numerous blockbuster films such as Hellboy, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, and Pacific Rim. He is also known for his prolific writing as manifested by his successful Hollywood flicks like The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, and Pan's Labyrinth. Apart from The Haunted Mansion, fans can also look forward to upcoming projects of the director which include the sequel for Pacific Rim, Pinocchio, and Crimson Peak.
