Winona Ryder inHaunted Mansion(2023).Photo:Walt Disney Studios
Walt Disney Studios
Warning: This article contains spoilers forThe Haunted Mansion,in theaters now.
Winona Ryderis no stranger to the strange and unusual — andJustin Simientook full advantage of that.
TheHaunted Mansiondirector, 40, toldThe Hollywood Reporterabout Ryder’s appearance in the new Disney film, joking when asked about the actress’s cameo, “We kidnapped her. We told her that she was shootingBeetlejuice 2, and she just went with it for a while until she caught on.”
“Carmen Cuba, the casting director, myself and the studio were really enamored with this idea of plugging in classic faces in these cameo roles, and it just felt so right that she’d be the tour guide at the end of the movie,” Simien said of Ryder, 51.
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Justin Simien on July 1, 2023, in New Orleans.Paras Griffin/Getty
Paras Griffin/Getty
The director said theHaunted Mansionteam was “shooting for quite a while,” which meant Ryder “had time to rest up and regroup” after filmingStranger Thingsseason 4in Atlanta before joining the production of the Disney movie in the same city.
“She was just so delightfully weird and funny in her performance, and it was a super magical time having her on this project,” Simien toldTHR.
Haunted Mansionis not the only spooky story Ryder is onboard for at the moment, as she also reprises her role of Lydia Deetz fromTim Burton’s 1988 filmBeetlejuicein its upcoming sequel.Jenna Ortegawill play the daughter of Ryder’s character.
The two actresses were spottedon the set ofBeetlejuice 2in Hertfordshire, England, last month, filming what appeared to be a wedding scene as Ortega, 20, wore a tulle-laden gown — in white, as opposed to the red multi-tier ruffled one Ryder sported back in the original movie.
Meanwhile, Ryder was dressed in her goth character’s signature black and even sported Lydia’s iconic hairstyle, complete with spikey bangs.
Based on the Disney Parks attraction of the same name, Walt Disney Pictures’Haunted Mansionmarks the second theatrical film adaptation of the ride, following 2003’sThe Haunted MansionstarringEddie Murphy.
Aside from Ryder, the movie’s star-studded cast includesRosario Dawson,Owen Wilson, LaKeith Stanfield, Danny DeVito andTiffany Haddish, with appearances fromJared Letoas the Hatbox Ghost andJamie Lee Curtisas Madame Leota.
The film revolves around a single mother (Dawson) and her 9-year-old son (Chase W. Dillon) who move into a New Orleans mansion hoping for a fresh start. However, they quickly learn the home is not what it appears to be and they enlist the help of several different figures, including a paranormal tour guide (Stanfield), a psychic (Haddish), a priest (Wilson) and a historian (DeVito).
Haunted Mansionis in theaters now.
source: people.com
