Portrait of a Disney villain character the Evil Queen at the Disneyland Resort in Hong Kong, China.
Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Disney hosted the premiere of its “Haunted Mansion” reboot at Disneyland on Saturday.
In lieu of the film’s stars who are on strike, theme park character actors took to the red carpet.
Director Justin Simien attended the premiere but said he supported the actors on strike.
Disney used its theme park actors on the red carpet after stars of the company’s “Haunted Mansion” reboot skipped the film’s premiere in solidarity with the SAG-AFTRA actors’ strike.
“Haunted Mansion” premiered at Disneyland in California on Saturday. Several of the film’s stars — including Tiffany Haddish, LaKeith Stanfield, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson, Chase W. Dillon, Dan Levy, Jamie Lee Curtis, Hasan Minhaj, Marilu Henner, and Lindsay Lamb — skipped the premiere due to the strike which was called on Thursday, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
SAG-AFTRA joined the Writers Guild of America in striking over fears that artificial intelligence may soon push them out of their jobs. This is the first time that both the writers’ union and the actors’ union have been on strike at the same time since 1960.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, instead of having actors walk the red carpet on Saturday, Disney rolled out several of its theme park actors. Characters seen on the carpet taking photos with fans for around two hours included Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Maleficent, the Evil Queen from “Snow White,” and Cruella de Vil.
—The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) July 16, 2023
Some guests and influencers also got the chance to ride Disneyland’s new “Haunted Mansion” attraction at the premiere as well, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Director Justin Simien and some of the film’s producers showed up around halfway through the event to walk the red carpet, the outlet reported.
Simein said he was feeling “very ambivalent,” but ultimately decided he wanted to honor Katie Dippold, who wrote the film’s script.
“If they can’t be here to speak for it, I felt like I had to be here to speak for it,” Simien told The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s sad that they’re not here, at the same time, I totally support the reason why they’re not here. And I’m happy to be the one to ring the bell in their stead.”
Simien added that he thinks SAG-AFTRA’s worries about AI in Hollywood are “a very important thing to hammer home and to figure out.”
Directors are a part of the Directors Guild of America, which is not currently on strike but has expressed support for SAG-AFTRA, saying it was “extremely disappointed that the AMPTP did not fairly and reasonably address the important issues raised by SAG-AFTRA in negotiations.”
Disney did not immediately return Insider’s request for comment on Sunday.