The Wildest Ride In The Wilderness: 5 Key Facts About Disney's Big Thunder Mountain Movie Status

The Big Thunder Mountain movie remains one of the most anticipated, yet mysterious, projects on The Walt Disney Company’s slate of theme park adaptations as of December 12, 2025. While the iconic mine train roller coaster, famous for its thrilling dips and turns in the fictional gold rush town of Rainbow Ridge, has provided the inspiration, concrete updates on the film's production status have been scarce since the initial creative team announcements.

The latest known information confirms that a high-profile team is attached to the project, aiming to translate the "wildest ride in the wilderness" from a beloved attraction in Frontierland and Adventureland into a major feature film. The movie will follow in the footsteps of successful ride-to-film franchises like *Pirates of the Caribbean* and *Jungle Cruise*, but its current silence suggests it may still be deep in the script development phase.

The Creative Team: Directors, Writers, and Producers

The most significant and recent news regarding the *Big Thunder Mountain* film came in 2022, establishing a strong creative foundation for the project. Disney has assembled a team with experience in both blockbuster action and quirky, character-driven narratives, which bodes well for a film based on a mine train rollercoaster.

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• Directors: The film is set to be directed by the duo known as Bert & Bertie. This pair, whose professional names are Amber Templemore-Finlayson and Katie Ellwood, gained significant recognition for their work on the Disney+ series *Hawkeye*, bringing a distinct visual style and sharp humor to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
• Writers: Siblings Michelle and Kieran Mulroney are attached to pen the script. The Mulroneys are known for their previous work on films such as *Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows* and the Amazon series *Paper Girls*. Their involvement suggests the film will blend adventure with a clever, perhaps supernatural, mystery narrative.
• Producers: The project boasts major production backing from LuckyChap Entertainment and Scott Free Productions. LuckyChap, founded by actress Margot Robbie, has a strong track record of critically acclaimed and commercially successful films, lending significant weight and ambition to the production. Scott Free, Ridley Scott's production company, adds further veteran experience.

Despite this powerhouse team being announced, the lack of a casting announcement or a production start date in the subsequent years (2023, 2024, and 2025) indicates that the script development is likely a meticulous and ongoing process, as the filmmakers work to craft a compelling plot from the ride's minimal, but rich, lore.

Unearthing the Lore: The Mystery of Rainbow Ridge

The true potential of the *Big Thunder Mountain* movie lies in adapting the detailed, yet open-ended, backstory created by Walt Disney Imagineers. The ride itself is not just a collection of hills and turns; it’s an immersive experience set in a specific time and place.

The established lore centers on the late 19th-century gold rush town of Rainbow Ridge, located deep in the American Southwest. The town was founded after gold was discovered on the mountain, leading to a massive influx of prospectors and the creation of the Big Thunder Mining Company.

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The central mystery—and the likely plot device for the film—is the mountain's curse. The prosperity of Rainbow Ridge was short-lived, as the mountain was said to be sacred and protected by supernatural forces. A sudden, violent storm struck the town, causing floods and rockslides that forced the inhabitants to abandon the area. The mine trains, however, continue to race through the abandoned tunnels on their own, a ghostly testament to the mountain's power. This blend of the Gold Rush era, a classic Western setting, and a supernatural curse provides a unique genre mix for a Disney film.

The film adaptation will likely utilize these key entities:

• The abandoned town of Rainbow Ridge
• The legendary gold mine and the Big Thunder Mining Company
• The unexplained, ghostly movement of the mine trains
• The concept of the mountain's ancient, protective curse
• The classic Western aesthetic of the Frontierland setting

The Disney Ride-to-Film Universe: A History of Success and Risk

The *Big Thunder Mountain* movie is the latest entry in a long-running strategy by Disney to capitalize on its popular theme park attractions. This cinematic universe has had both monumental successes and notable misfires, creating a high-stakes environment for the new film.

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Successful Adaptations

The blueprint for success was set by the *Pirates of the Caribbean* franchise, which became a global phenomenon and proved that a feature film could be spun from minimal source material. Other recent hits include *Jungle Cruise* (2021), starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Emily Blunt, which successfully captured the ride's adventurous spirit and pun-filled humor. The recent *Haunted Mansion* (2023) film also demonstrated Disney's continued commitment to this strategy.

The Road to Production: An Earlier Attempt

It is worth noting that the current film project is not the first attempt to adapt the ride. Back in 2013, a television series based on *Big Thunder Mountain* was in development at ABC, with actor Ryan Reynolds attached to produce a pilot. This earlier attempt shows the long-standing interest in the property and the difficulty in cracking the right story for the screen.

Current Context: The Ride's Refurbishment

In a related, but separate, development, the physical attraction at Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World is undergoing a significant, long-term refurbishment. The ride closed in early 2025 and is not expected to reopen until Spring 2026, with Disney promising "touches of new magic" and a crevasse-deep to mountain-top refurbishment. While this refurbishment is not directly tied to the film's plot, it ensures that the attraction will be in pristine condition and highly visible around the time the movie is likely to ramp up its marketing and production efforts, creating a synergistic promotional opportunity for the Walt Disney World and Disneyland parks.

For now, fans eagerly await the next major announcement, hoping to hear about casting or a production start date that will finally set the "wildest ride" on its course for the silver screen.