During San Diego Comic-Con, Screen Rant spoke with Simien about directing Haunted Mansion. He discusses the adaptation process from ride to movie in Haunted Mansion. Simien also reveals that he would love to bring the decommissioned Captain EO attraction to the big screen next. Check out Simien’s full quote below:
“Captain EO, let’s go. Listen, I know it is out of commission, okay? I know that’s not technically a ride, but I am ready. I need some singing and I need some dancing and I need some jerry curl juice in outer space immediately.”
Although it no longer exists, Captain EO was at Disneyland from 1986 to 1997 and Epcot from 1986 to 1994. Then re-installed for a short period after 2009. The attraction featured Michael Jackson as the star of a 3D sci-fi musical short film that was directed by Francis Ford Coppola and written by George Lucas, Rusty Lemorande, and Coppola. The short film follows Captain EO and his crew on their spaceship as they go on a mission to save a planet from The Supreme Leader.
Last week, we reported that Simien would love to reboot “The Wiz” also featuring Michael Jackson. Clearly a fan of Michael Jackson.
However, with Captain EO, Simien is facing a bigger challenge: The dispute between the Estate and Disney over the use of Michael’s imagery on an ABC (owned by Disney) documentary has damaged the relationship between the two.
While a reboot of “The Wiz” can be possible and acceptable, Michael Jackson fans might feel differently about Captain EO. It is such an iconic piece, not only for Michael Jackson fans but also for Disney fans and Star Wars fans. Often talked about in Fan discussions, it seems that fans would prefer to have the real thing on DVD and Blu-ray or even make a cartoon or animation, using Michael’s likeness and similar voice.
Whatever happens, those are just Simien’s wishes and nothing has been concretely agreed.
