Disney Builds a New TOWER OF TERROR

Walt Disney Pictures will be turning another theme park attraction into a feature film.

Sources confirm that Disney’s Tower of Terror, inspired by the famed Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror attraction, will be adapted into a film. Back in 2009, there were rumors that Disney was intent on this adaption, but nothing concrete ever came of it. Six years later, the project is actively moving forward with a new take and a veteran producer, Jim Whitaker.

John August, a frequent Tim Burton-collaborator, will be the force behind this new version, creating an outline that will serve as the basis for the feature and script.

As expected, plot details are being kept quiet, but The Tracking Board heard rumors that the new take is in the Burton vein, playing to a more fun than scary feature. Tower of Terror is one of the tallest Walt Disney World attractions, plunging riders down a 13-story drop. Measuring 199 feet tall, the attraction is set in the fictional Hollywood Tower Hotel. Passengers are greeted by The Twilight Zone‘s host/creator Rod Serling, who describes the tragic demise of five hotel guests in 1939. In the story, lightning strikes the hotel and the elevator inside, causing the five riders to teleport to the fifth dimension, otherwise known as The Twilight Zone.

The ride offers four different stories of the same incident, but it always revolves around the disappearing guests. Most viewers probably know the previous adaptation, the 1997 TV movie Tower of Terror, starring Steve Guttenberg and a young Kirsten Dunst. This film kept the core narrative of the ride, but ignored most other details. It does, however, have the distinction of being the first film based on a Disney ride, and the honor of being primarily shot at the actual attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Whitaker will be producing this new adaptation via his Whitaker Entertainment, while Sam Dickerman oversees for Disney.