‘A lot of these worlds can fit side by side’: Seemingly emboldened by failure, ‘Haunted Mansion’ director wants a whole cinematic universe

The last time a colossal box office bomb was heralded as the start of an entire shared mythology, we ended up with Tom Cruise’s The Mummy and the smoldering embers of the Dark Universe, so Haunted Mansion is at least in good company in one respect.

Disney’s latest big budget misfire stands no chance of turning a profit given its $157 million budget and dismal box office performance so far, but the one shining light through the entire debacle has been the optimism and positivity of director Justin Simien, who was dealt a very poor hand.

He’s at it again, too, revealing to Total Film that he’d be more than open to the idea of an entire theme park cinematic universe, which we’d confidently proclaim stands a chance of happening that’s hovering just above zero.

“I certainly think it’s there, it’s certainly something I’ve noticed as a fan of these movies, and also of the parks, is that a lot of these worlds can fit side by side, like the crocodiles in Haunted Mansion and Peter Pan and Pirates [of the Caribbean] are kind of similar. You’ve got the mermaids on the Peter Pan [ride too]. There’s a lot of cross-pollination that is certainly possible should the movie gods decide so.”

Based on nothing but the fact Haunted Mansion stands to lose an awful lot of money, “the movie gods” haven’t so much as smirked in its general direction, so a full-blown toothy grin blinding enough to green light further adventures is an impossibility by any measurable metric.