Disney’s Tower of Terror Ride Is Being Developed Into a Movie Again

Disney’s The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror attraction has been around since 1994, and if you grew up in the ’90s you may recall that it was already the inspiration for one film — a 1997 Disney TV movie starring Kirsten Dunst and Steve Guttenberg. It was one of the studio’s first attempts at translating a theme park attraction into a film, and it’s now one of their latest as Disney is reportedly developing a new movie based on the popular ride.

Deadline reports that John August is writing the screenplay for the new Tower of Terror movie, which will drop the “Twilight Zone” element from the title as Disney has been developing a separate film based on their Twilight Zone concept for several years (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes director Matt Reeves was attached at one point).

August is best known for his screenplays for Tim Burton’s Big Fish, Frankenweenie and The Corpse Bride, and also wrote Go and Charlie’s Angels. But it’s those Burton-friendly skills that likely sealed the deal on the Tower of Terror project. The ride debuted at Disneyworld in Florida in 1994, with subsequent versions appearing at locations in Hollywood, Japan and France.

It was also the basis for Disney’s 1997 TV movie starring Kirsten Dunst and Steve Guttenberg, in which the latter plays a reporter investigating a series of disappearances at an old hotel. Here’s the trailer for that film (via Slashfilm):

The movie was pretty faithful to the ride, which invites park-goers onto an elevator platform that rises several stories before abruptly dropping. Disney’s fictional narrative for the attraction involves the disappearance of several elevator passengers due to a mysterious supernatural occurrence.

While waiting in line, monitors display a “lost” episode of The Twilight Zone that explains the fictional history of the haunted elevator.

In addition to Tower of Terror, Disney is also developing a movie based on their Jungle Cruise attraction with Dwayne Johnson set to star.

Movie-Inspired Theme Park Rides That Were Never Made