In the wake of the 1928 animated short Steamboat Willie entering the public domain, horror movie Screamboat is headed our way to twist the tale into a horror movie nightmare, with David Howard Thornton (Terrifier franchise’s Art the Clown) playing the killer Steamboat Willie.
Iconic Events Releasing is bringing Screamboat to the big screen in April 2025, and Variety shares the very first image of David Howard Thornton as Steamboat Willie today (above).
“I’m so excited to share our mischievous monster mouse with the world. Screamboat is my way of paying homage to Disney while putting a sinister, yet comedic twist on the classic,” writer-director Steven LaMorte said in a statement to the outlet. “Watching David Howard Thornton bring Steamboat Willie to life with the magicians at Quantum Creation FX has been nothing short of amazing — he’s hilarious and murderously entertaining. I can’t wait for audiences to meet Willie and experience the chaos we’ve created.”
Screamboat follows a group of New Yorkers on a late-night ferry ride that turns deadly when a mischievous mouse begins a rampage, targeting unsuspecting passengers.
The unlikely crew must band together to thwart the murderous menace before their relaxing commute turns into a nightmare.
Tyler Posey (“Teen Wolf”) and Kailey Hyman (Damien Leone’s Terrifier 2) also star, with Brian Quinn (“Impractical Jokers”) and Joe DeRosa appearing in cameo roles.
Director Steven LaMorte promises that the film’s version of Steamboat Willie is “a 100 percent in-camera practical creature,” with both a puppet and a costume being used.
The cast also includes Allison Pittel (“Stream”), Amy Schumacher (“The Mean One”), Jesse Posey (“Teen Wolf”), Jesse Kove (“Cobra Kai”), Rumi C Jean-Louis (“Hightown”) as well as Jarlath Conroy (Romero’s “Day of the Dead”) and Charles Edwin Powell (“The Exorcist III”).
Christian Beckman‘s Quantum Creation FX, Inc. (The Last Voyage of the Demeter, The Book of Boba Fett) is creating the creature from designs by concept artist Christian Cordella (Avatar: The Way of Water, Spider-Man: No Way Home).
Produced by Amy Schumacher, Martine Melloul, and Steven LaMorte (the team behind The Mean One) in collaboration with horror heavyweights Steven Della Salla and Michael Leavy (Terrifier 2, Terrifer 3, Stream), the film promises a hilariously horrific twist on Disney’s mascot.
Steamboat Willie was of course the short film that introduced Mickey Mouse to the world.
