Scarlett Johansson has been attached to a Tower of Terror movie for several years. While it looked like the plug might be pulled following the actor’s dispute with Disney over Black Widow, the studio later reaffirmed that she was still attached to this big screen adaptation of the beloved Disney Parks ride.
Versions of Tower of Terror exist in Disney World, the Walt Disney Studios park in France, Tokyo DisneySea in Japan, and at Disney California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort in California.
While the latter is now themed to Guardians of the Galaxy as part of Avengers Campus, the rest boast a horror-inspired vibe—and their own "lore"—with the most iconic pulling inspiration from the Twilight Zone series.
Talking to Entertainment Weekly (via FearHQ.com) about her role in Jurassic World Rebirth, Johansson shared an update on how work is progressing with Tower of Terror, and admitted that it's proving to be a "hard nut to crack."
She added, "Harder than you think, because the ride itself, there's some lore to it, but it's... I don't want to say thin, but it is, kind of!"
Adding that the ride's narrative "doesn’t have so much to dig into," Johansson noted, "That's part of the mystery of the ride. It's been a fun project to work on, because it's a blue sky project. It has also proved to be a hard nut to crack. But, we'll crack the case of it. It's taking shape!"
For those of you who aren't aware, the basic premise of Tower of Terror finds five unlucky hotel guests after boarding an elevator into the Hollywood Tower Hotel. It's struck by lightning, and those riding the attraction "fall" up and down the elevator shaft, ultimately surviving the night.
Johansson isn't kidding when she says there isn't much to mine there for a feature film. Disney has also had mixed fortunes adapting its theme park rides. Pirates of the Caribbean spawned a hugely successful franchise, but Haunted Mansion has now been the focus of two largely unsuccessful movies.
This won't be the first Tower of Terror "adaptation" as one was released in 1997. Made for TV, it starred Steve Guttenberg and Kirsten Dunst and was filmed at the original Disney World ride in Orlando, Florida. However, like Johansson's take, it featured no links to the Twilight Zone series.
Are you excited for a new take on Tower of Terror? Weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section below.