Four years after announcing her Disney project based on the Twilight Zone ride, Scarlett Johansson reveals the challenges of adapting the theme park classic into a compelling feature film.
Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson has finally offered an update on her long-awaited Tower of Terror movie, revealing that the script is “taking shape” after years of development. First announced in 2021, the project is inspired by the iconic Disney World ride and is being written by Toy Story 4‘s Josh Cooley. However, Johansson admits the narrative has proven trickier to craft than expected, calling it “a hard nut to crack.”
More than four years after Tower of Terror was announced, Scarlett Johansson is still navigating the creative “Twilight Zone” of trying to turn a beloved Disney ride into a cinematic story with depth.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, the two-time Academy Award nominee, who is also producing the film, confirmed that the project is still alive—though the process hasn’t been easy. “It’s a hard nut to crack,” Johansson admitted. “Harder than you think, because the ride itself, there’s some lore to it, but it’s… I don’t want to say thin, but it is, kind of!”
Johansson noted that while the Tower of Terror ride, which opened at Disney World in 1994, offers an eerie and thrilling experience, translating its brief narrative into a full-length feature film has been creatively demanding. “That’s part of the mystery of the ride,” she explained. “It’s been a fun project to work on, because it’s a blue sky project. It has also proved to be a hard nut to crack. But we’ll crack the case of it. It’s taking shape!”
Originally inspired by The Twilight Zone series, the Tower of Terror attraction follows a chilling storyline about five individuals—an actor, a singer, a child star, her nanny, and a bellhop—who mysteriously vanish after boarding an elevator at the Hollywood Tower Hotel, struck by lightning during a storm. The ride takes guests through an immersive experience with 1930s Hollywood vibes and supernatural suspense.
Johansson’s remarks come decades after Disney’s first attempt at adapting the ride into film. The 1997 Wonderful World of Disney movie, directed by D.J. MacHale, starred Steve Guttenberg and Kirsten Dunst. That version, however, had no official connection to The Twilight Zone. It centered on a journalist (Guttenberg) and his niece (Dunst) investigating the 1939 disappearance referenced in the attraction. Notably, much of the film was shot on location at the actual Disney theme park.
This new version, however, aims to go beyond nostalgia, with Johansson and writer Josh Cooley attempting to build a richer narrative that honors the atmosphere and essence of the original ride.
As Disney continues to mine its theme park attractions for movie potential—Pirates of the Caribbean being the gold standard—Tower of Terror presents a unique challenge. Its spooky, atmospheric charm has captivated park visitors for decades, but turning its minimalist storyline into a blockbuster requires patience, creativity, and, as Johansson has discovered, a little bit of lightning magic.
With the script finally moving forward, Scarlett Johansson remains committed to unlocking the cinematic potential of Tower of Terror. While adapting the lore-light attraction into a compelling film has proven difficult, the project’s slow but steady progress suggests that Disney fans may eventually get a story worthy of the ride’s eerie legacy—and Johansson’s star power.