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Ryan Gosling in talks to brave Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Haunted Mansion’

Ryan Gosling is in talks to star in Guillermo del Toro's "Haunted Mansion" movie.
Ryan Gosling is in talks to star in Guillermo del Toro’s “Haunted Mansion” movie.
(Jack Plunkett / Invision/AP)
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Ryan Gosling might be taking up residence in Disney’s “Haunted Mansion.”

The actor, director and meme-inspirer is in talks to star in Guillermo del Toro’s supernatural film based on the studio’s spooky theme park ride, The Times has confirmed. The Wrap first reported the news.

“Haunted Mansion” has been in development for several years and was first announced at Comic-Con in 2010. At the time, Del Toro — whose Gothic-inflected films include “Pan’s Labyrinth,” “Hellboy” and the upcoming “Crimson Peak” — said he and his collaborators were “reintroducing the mythology in the mansion.” He noted, for example, that the ride’s Hatbox Ghost character would play a prominent role in the movie adaptation.

Del Toro also pledged, “We’re making it scary and fun. But the scary will be scary.”

A creepier tone would help distance Del Toro’s version from Disney’s previous film inspired by the attraction, the 2003 Eddie Murphy comedy-fantasy “The Haunted Mansion.”

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D.V. DeVincentis (“High Fidelity”) is penning the latest draft of the new film.

For Gosling and Del Toro’s part, the two have become quite chummy lately. At SXSW last month, Del Toro moderated a chat with Gosling about his directorial debut, “Lost River,” during which Del Toro said they share the same “esoteric” taste in film. “We love some twisted, weird, strange stuff,” he said.

Perhaps even more tellingly, Del Toro acknowledged his and Gosling’s shared love of the Happiest Place on Earth, where they were recently spotted by paparazzi.

“We are united by a very strange love of Disneyland,” Del Toro said.

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