Disney plans to turn the Tower of Terror into a feature film

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

No attraction is safe within the Disney theme park machine when it comes to getting the feature film treatment.

In fact, if someone at some point comes along and thinks they can turn one of their rides or shows into a movie, The Mouse may give them their chance. Building on the success of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN, which started out as a simple boat ride through a village overrun by pirates and then became a Johnny Depp juggernaut, Disney has never shied away from attempting to do the same with other properties on the paid side of their turnstiles. They gave THE HAUNTED MANSION a shot and the COUNTRY BEARS and almost built an entire movie around the Magic Kingdom itself before Jon Favreau went with THE JUNGLE BOOK. They have JUNGLE CRUISE on deck and now it appears they are also moving to make TOWER OF TERROR happen.

Billed as The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror in the park, the freefall tower ride constructed as an elevator takes you inside the Hollywood Tower Hotel, which saw a group of guests disappear when the building was struck by lightning. Since that episode, the building has been haunted with the ghosts of those unlucky elevator passengers, and they’re more than happy to take you on a plunging ride yourself down into the Twilight Zone.

With all that mind, John August has pitched a treatment to Disney that they love, and the studio is now actively seeking a screenwriter who can mold this idea into something they can make. The Tower of Terror has been given the movie treatment once before, back in 1997 , but most people like to pretend that made-for-TV flick starring Steve Guttenberg and Kirsten Dunst never happened.

Could this work? Absolutely. The Disney attraction has one of the better stories attached to it, given its TWILIGHT ZONE influences, and, at least when you’re on it, it makes for a thrilling experience. The key here is whether or not August and his producing partner Jim Whitaker have bottled that up into whatever idea they’ve hatched that will have audiences feeling the same.