Justin Simien Wants to Bring Michael Jackson Disney Attraction ‘Captain EO’ to Theaters

After Haunted Mansion, filmmaker and screenwriter Justin Simien has his sights set on throwback Michael Jackson Disney attraction Captain EO. During Comic-Con, the 40-year-old spoke about adapting the 3D sci-fi short film Captain EO, which was shown at Disney theme parks from 1986 to 1998, to film. Captain EO was both an attraction at Walt Disney World and Disneyland, returning in 2010, one year after Jackson’s death. It was also shown a final time at Disney World’s Epcot in 2015.

“Captain EO, let’s go,” Simien told Screen Rant. “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.”

Michael Jackson - Captain EO (4K Remastered)www.youtube.com

Captain EO was directed and co-written by Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather series, The Outsiders), while George Lucas (Star Wars) and Rusty Lemorande (Journey to the Center of the Earth) also assisted with the script. The film follows Captain EO (Jackson), who is on a mission to deliver a gift to the Supreme Leader who lives in a decaying world of twisted metal and steaming vents. After capturing Captain EO’s crew, the Supreme Leader sentences them to be turned into trash cans, before she has a change of heart. Captain EO tells the Supreme Leader he sees the beauty in her with the song “We Are Here to Change the World,” undoing the ruler’s ruin.

Haunted Mansion has been a long-standing operating dark ride at Disney’s Magic Kingdom, Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland. First established at Disneyland in 1969, the attraction has been adapted to film twice, first in 2003 and second in July, with the movie starring LaKeith Stanfield, Rosario Dawson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tiffany Haddish and more.

Haunted Mansion | Official Trailerwww.youtube.com