Like many of you, I love discovering some unknown tid-bits about the world of Disney. I especially love the discoveries that connect back to the theme parks and resorts. In January 2012, Variety reported that screenwriter Max Landis had sold a pitch to Walt Disney Pictures for an “untitled space adventure” pitch with the potential to be a film franchise that could “benefit all of the company’s divisions.” The truth is that these were two projects that were going to be Space Mountain feature films that Disney was developing in secret.
Hollywood and the road a film has to take is interesting and an adventure in and of itself. Due to some of the releases and other news, this fell below the radar of most people, including Disney fans.
It was later that Landis shared that the project was to be a screen adaptation of the famous Disneyland/Disney World attraction Space Mountain.
Want to hear a bit about it? Here goes…Space Mountain – Set in a retro 1950s version of the future, a young man must travel across a solar system in the wake of a terrible disaster, unravelling a mystery as he searches for his lost sister.
Sounds like it could be fun, right? So what happened?
According to the screenwriter, he was working on the project at Disney when production was all of a sudden halted in October 2012. He tried to find out why the project was shelved and Disney responded that they had greenlit another property that was too similar, and have decided not to make a movie based on Space Mountain after all.
So then the next question for curious minds would be…what project? The answer came 2 weeks later.
Disney had acquired Lucasfilm from George Lucas and would be making new Star Wars movies.
So with the new Star Wars franchise now in place, Space Mountain remains an undiscovered mountain somewhere out in the Disney landscape.
On the adventure of life, it is amazing what you discover when you are on the way toward something else. In a pursuit of a new space franchise, the Disney Company ended up with one of the most powerful space franchises in the history of motion pictures. Now that has nothing to do with the value or the creativity that might have been brought to the Space Mountain series…but very few people are disappointed that Star Wars has new life, new creativity, and a new audience.
Today, you are pressing hard to go someplace- we all are. But along the way, some of the most exciting discoveries might be found in the place you never expected to find them. So keep your eyes open, embrace each moment of your day, and live the adventure you have been given to live…and live it to the fullest!
(Source information & images ; Slashfilm.com -Two ‘Space Mountain’ Movies Were Killed By ‘Star Wars’-Posted on Tuesday, September 13th 2016 by Peter Sciretta)
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Jeff has written a series of novels set in and around Walt Disney World entitled, The Key to the Kingdom, Unlocking the Kingdom, and Storming the Kingdom. The latest installment in that series is called, Terror in the Kingdom and will be released soon. He is also the author of the book, The Disney Driven Life. This is a book that draws life lessons and leadership principles from the history and life of Walt Disney. Some know Jeff as Dixon On Disney – and he resources and comments on Disney history, attractions, and news. He is a researcher that draws heavily on the incredible works of Disney historians and biographers with an attempt to understand and apply the life lessons that are uncovered.