Just as his directorial debut “Lost River” hits theaters this weekend, Oscar-nominated actor Ryan Gosling is in talks to star in Guillermo del Toro‘s Disney movie “Haunted Mansion.”
Gosling and del Toro have developed a close friendship of late, with the Mexican filmmaker moderating a panel with Gosling at SXSW last month to discuss the making of “Lost River.” The duo were also photographed together at Disneyland over Oscar weekend, where they rode the Haunted Mansion ride in addition to Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain Railroad and the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction.
“Haunted Mansion” has been in development at Disney for several years, as the project was first announced at Comic-Con in July 2010. D.V. DeVincentis (“High Fidelity”) is currently working on the script for the supernatural family film.
“Haunted Mansion” represents a homecoming of sorts for the actor, who is a former Mouseketeer. He also co-starred in Disney’s beloved sports movie “Remember the Titans.”
Gosling wrote, produced and directed “Lost River,” which is being released by Warner Bros. on Friday. The film stars Christina Hendricks, Saoirse Ronan, Matt Smith, Ben Mendelsohn and Gosling’s partner, Eva Mendes.
Gosling next stars opposite Russell Crowe in Shane Black‘s crime movie “The Nice Guys” and he also co-stars in an upcoming Terrence Malick movie. Gosling is currently filming Adam McKay’s “The Big Short” with Brad Pitt, Christian Bale and Steve Carell.
Gosling, who earned an Oscar nomination for “Half Nelson,” is represented by Anonymous Content, LBI Entertainment and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern.