The cast of Haunted Mansion is filled with standout personalities with specific voices. Harriet, the confidence-lacking but highly skilled medium, is ultimately a character only Tiffany Haddish could play, and the same can be said of Danny DeVito’s Bruce Davis, the determined but fragile historian. It’s clear that the performers and their skills had an influence on their roles in the new Disney horror comedy, but according to director Justin Simien, it was Owen Wilson who ended up having the biggest impact on the part through the production process.
Speaking with the filmmaker earlier this month at San Diego Comic-Con, I asked about the development of the Haunted Mansion script and how casting influenced the work by screenwriter Katie Dippold. Simien told me that the characters were molded to fit the stars brought on to the cast, but it was Owen Wilson above all others who ended up having the most significant impact. He explained,
