Disney characters replace Haunted Mansion stars on red carpet at first major premiere since actors' strike

Apparently, the show must go on.

The show in question was Disney's Saturday night premiere of Haunted Mansion, the first major-studio movie premiere held since the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) began its strike this week. As of midnight on Friday, July 14, more than 160,000 members of the actors' union went on strike, joining writers of the WAG on the picket line.

With none of the film's stars present to hit the red carpet and conduct interviews, Disney called upon some familiar (if unexpected) faces to take their place and celebrate: Disneyland characters.

Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Maleficent, the Evil Queen and Cruella De Vil all walked the carpet and greeted the many fans in attendance.

The biggest cast members of the movie, including LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson, Dan Levy, Jamie Lee Curtis, Hasan Minhaj, Marilu Henner, and Lindsay Lamb took no part in the festivities, which were held at the Hyperion Theater.

MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty The empty red carpet at the 'Haunted Mansion' premiere

However, Haunted Mansion director Justin Simien did make an appearance on the red carpet, where he told Variety that it was "sad and disappointing" to be there without the movie's marquee names. "I'm not disappointed in this cast," he explained. "I'm disappointed in the conditions that brought about this situation."

Simien also took time to call out Disney CEO Bob Iger, who last week said the union's expectations were "not realistic."

"Let me tell you about unrealistic: Me being a filmmaker is unrealistic," Simien said. "Coming from Houston, Texas, gay, Black? That's unrealistic. And what made me believe I could do that and so many other things is watching these movies with these beautiful protagonists that had these unrealistic dreams, and seeing the journey that it took to get there.

He continued, "So many artists believe in that dream and contribute to these movies and the products, and are here because of these products. I would love to talk to him about the reality that we all face as artists to make the impossible happen every day."

Jalen Marlowe/disney Rosario Dawson, Tiffany Haddish, and LaKeith Stanfield in Disney's 'Haunted House'

Iger received backlash for his comments, including from SAG-AFTRA president Fran Dreschner, who called them "positively tone-deaf."

"If I were that company," she said, "I would lock him behind doors and never let him talk to anybody about this, because it's so obvious that he has no clue as to what is really happening on the ground with hard-working people that don't make anywhere near the salary he is making."

Several streamers and studios have already announced plans to cancel upcoming events, including the Oppenheimer red-carpet premiere originally scheduled for Monday, July 17.

Haunted Mansion, said to be a purposeful departure from the 2003 Eddie Murphy movie, hits theaters July 28.

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