RUMOR: ‘Thor 4’ Director Taika Waititi Hired for ‘Tower of Terror’
According to an exclusive report at The DisInsider.com, Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi has signed on to direct Disney’s Tower of Terror reboot movie, which will be produced by Black Widow‘s Scarlett Johansson. With her lawsuit settled, the actress reconfirmed her commitment to the Disney project during her acceptance speech for the 35th Annual American Cinematheque Award. Joining Johansson and Waititi, Toy Story 4 director Josh Cooley, who is penning the script.
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
The Tower of Terror movie is based on The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, which opened at Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios in 1994. The ride has been such a huge hit with Disney guests that versions of the Tower of Terror have opened worldwide, with other Tower of Terror rides opening at Disney’s California Adventure Park in Anaheim, California, Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris, France, and a specially themed version at Tokyo DisneySea in Japan.
Photo: D23
However, to the disappointment of many The Twilight Zone fans, the version at California Adventure has since been re-themed into a Marvel-themed attraction, Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission – BREAKOUT!
ABC’s Tower of Terror
Disney’s first film based on the Tower of Terror attraction came out in 1997 on ABC’s The Wonderful World of Disney.
The Tower of Terror movie was written and directed by D.J. MacHale, and starred Steve Guttenberg and Kirsten Dunst. The plot follows tabloid journalist (Guttenberg), who, after learning of a bizarre incident his aunt witnessed at the Hollywood Tower Hotel in 1939, takes his niece (Dunst) to investigate if the hotel is haunted by the ghosts of the five guests who disappeared during the incident.
Photo: Disney Parks Blog
Since 1997, Disney has released numerous movies based on theme park attractions, with most doing well at the box office. For example, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has grossed over $4.5 billion, and is so successful the company is rebooting it with Harley Quinn actress Margot Robbie. Most recently, Disney released the Jungle Cruise, starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, which grossed $213 million worldwide.
Taika Waititi
Waititi has a prolific career: he directed Jojo Rabbit, which won Best Adapted Screenplay at the 2020 Oscars, and he’s an executive producer on the FX series What We Do in the Shadows, which is based on a film he co-created with Jemaine Clement, and recently, he had a small role in James Gunn‘s The Suicide Squad.
Taika Waititi and Scarlett Johansson. Photo: Pinterest
With Tower of Terror, Waititi is adding another project to his already heavy workload. Marvel Blog True Believers will best know the director for his work on Thor franchise, and his most recent project with the Disney/Marvel brand is Thor: Love and Thunder. Not only is Waititi directing Thor 4, he’s set to return as the voice of Korg.
Source: The DisInsider.com
