Disney is in negotiations with Hawkeye directors Bert & Bertie to helm its next feature film based on one of its classic theme park rides, Big Thunder Mountain. Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment and Ridley Scott’s Scott Free are producing, and Kieran and Michele Mulroney (Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows) are writing the script for, the movie, Deadline is reporting..
Big Thunder Mountain is a mine cart ride set in a mining town where gold is discovered. The original ride opened in 1979 in Disneyland in Anaheim, which was soon followed by another version at the Magic Kingdom in Orlando. There are also versions of the Big Thunder Mountain ride in Disneyland’s Tokyo and Paris locations.
The attraction is one of the most recognizable roller coasters in all of Disney’s theme parks. However, the studio has not yet publicly shared any information about the plot of the film, and how closely it will adhere to the ride’s narrative.
The news of Bert & Bertie’s involvement in the Big Thunder Mountain movie comes after Disney began working on the screen adaptation in 2013.
The Big Thunder Mountain film also comes after Disney found blockbuster success with its Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise. Another popular film that was based on a Disney theme park attraction was last summer’s fantasy adventure feature, Jungle Cruise, which starred Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt.
Disney is also rebooting its screen adaptation of The Haunted Mansion, whose original incarnation was released in 2003 and starred Eddie Murphy. The upcoming movie version of the popular attraction will star Owen Wilson.
Disney considered hiring Bert & Bertie (the professional names of Amber Templemore-Finlayson and Katie Ellwood) to direct the Big Thunder Mountain screen adaptation after they received positive reviews for helming half of the episodes of Hawkeye for Disney+.
The filmmakers also garnered attention for recently helming episodes of the hit HBO comedy series, Our Flag Means Death. Besides their television work, Bert & Bertie are also known for their previous feature film directorial efforts together, including the 2019 comedy-drama, Troop Zero, and the 2016 web comedy-drama, Dance Camp.
Despite their previously positive working relationship with Disney on Hawkeye, Bert & Bertie still needed to deliver a presentation to the studio’s executives about their vision for the Big Thunder Mountain movie. But the executives were reportedly immediately excited from the beginning about the filmmaking duo’s vision of how to adapt the Big Thunder Mountain attraction for the screen.