On August 7, 2012, Del Toro mentioned in an interview with Collider that he had submitted his final draft to Disney, and that "they like the screenplay" because "their reaction to the draft was good". Del Toro revealed that he will co-write the film, but won't direct it.
It was announced on July 22, 2010, at San Diego Comic-Con International that a new live action 3D film based on Disney's The Haunted Mansion was in development with Guillermo del Toro writing and producing. Del Toro said that Hatbox Ghost would be the main haunting and that they are making it scary and fun at the same time, but the scary will be scary.
On April 9, 2015, it was reported that Ryan Gosling is in talks to star in the film and D.V. DeVincentis will work on the film's script.
In September 2016, Digital Trends interviewed Disney executive producer Brigham Taylor, who said: "Guillermo is still very much attached and involved. It's just been going at its own pace, because it's a movie that I think will eventually get made, but should only be made when it's absolutely ready to be made. There's no reason to put a rush on it or back into a date. I'm happy to say we've been steadily working away to hone the right story for it."