Space Mountain is one of the oldest and most beloved rides at Disney theme parks. It opened in January of 1975 as part of the Tomorrowland showcase in the Magic Kingdom park. It's a fast-paced roller coaster set in outer space and has a futuristic yet retro vibe to it. The famous ride is now getting the Disney movie treatment in a live-action movie based on the ride's set designs.
Joby Harold—who helped write Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead—is going to write and produce the film alongside his wife, Tory Tunnell. There is no news yet on what the story will be or who will be in the cast, but viewers can expect to see a family feel-good flick mixed with science fiction, adventure, and a few teary-eyed moments. Based on Disney's hit or miss ride-to-movie movement in an attempt to expand their cinematic universe, there's one thing fans can count on. Disney will offer a safe story with an easy family watch. But is it possible now that Disney owns Star Wars there could be some type of connection to the film franchise?
It is unlikely that Space Mountain will be set in the Star Wars universe; although the writer is, however, currently working on an Obi-Wan Kenobi Star Wars series for Disney's streaming service. The set designs and music give off a much different vibe—one of a 50s or 60s idealization of the future. It would be great to see a Space Mountain movie filmed on an old camera, like the one that was used in The Lighthouse (even though that movie's theme and time setting are much different). Of course, it would need to be in color, and in a color palette that accurately represented the ride's theme. A movie that perfectly represented what people in the 50s and 60s thought about the future, made to look like it was filmed around that same time, would give this movie a classic Hollywood movie feel.
Some of the ride's decorations and ship designs were inspired by 2001: A Space Odyssey. The first thing riders experience is going through a tunnel with blue lights that make them feel like they're going at the speed of light. Through the duration of the roller coaster, the visuals are pretty much just darkness, stars, planets, astronauts, and other space stuff. The ride concludes by going through a red-lit wormhole-like tunnel, the opposite of the blue tunnel from the beginning of the journey.
Space Mountain was originally pitched as Space Voyage. A storyline with a similar feel to 2001: A Space Odyssey set around space and time travel, exploration, and discovery of a large mountainous planet where astronauts run into some unexpected trouble would be an interesting story compared to the otherwise story less Space Mountain ride. The music on the roller coaster fills riders with excitement, uncertainty, and the feeling of discovery. A space exploration and other world discovery theme would be in line with the feeling Disney fanatics get when on this ride.
Music is a big part of the experience of this roller coaster. This is why a good film soundtrack is a must. Outside of the Space Mountain entrance back in 1975 to 1985, the big band song "Here's to the Future and You" could be heard playing. So it wouldn't be too far-fetched to have a story about time travel. As seen in Christopher Nolan's Interstellar, space exploration will come with some unexpected changes to time whether intended or not. Inside the ride's lobby since 1985, a cover of the song "We've Come So Far" is also heard playing. From 1985 to 2005 different versions and sections of "We've Come So Far" could be heard playing throughout the ride and set designs. The music had a low-quality sound, which made it feel dreamy and like it was from another time.
But in 2005, Space Mountain got a new soundtrack composed for it as well as new sound effects for the ride itself. Not only did the music get updated, but the post-show, ride, and decorations all got make-overs in 2009 to make them feel more futuristic. Since Walt Disney conceived the idea back in 1965, as mentioned before, the 'futuristic' set pieces were charming in the way that they were idealized. This is why a movie set in the 60s would be classy and give fans a feeling of nostalgia for how they felt the first time they rode Space Mountain. Especially since the ride was remodeled again in 2018 and took away some designs that made fans quite upset. A movie that immortalizes the way the ride used to be would satisfy fans everywhere.
Fans of Space Mountain were upset by the remodeling of the ride because they felt like a part of their childhood and their memories were being taken away from them. A movie to reflect Walt Disney's original view of the future with the limited technology of the 1960s and 70s would be classy, charming, and bring in fans of all ages.