Update: Steamboat Willie officially became public domain and the reactions have already been incredible.
Mickey Mouse could be turned into a slasher movie villain, come 2024. Horror fans were shocked - and delighted - when Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey was announced in 2022. Based on the classic children's books by A.A. Milne and E.H. Shepard, Blood And Honey is a slasher retelling where Winnie and Piglet go on a rampage against the grown-up Christopher Robin. For some, twisting Winnie The Pooh into a You're Next-inspired chiller is pure sacrilege, but since the original Winnie book entered the public domain in 2022, Disney - who once held exclusive rights to the cuddly bear - had no legal recourse against Blood And Honey.
Some concessions had to be made to Blood And Honey in terms of copyright; Winnie characters like Tigger and Roo couldn't appear as they're not currently in the public domain, and elements still under Disney's copyright had to be avoided. The publicly generated by Blood And Honey has led to a glut of independent filmmakers mounting bloodthirsty takes on beloved children's characters. 2022's The Mean One starred Art the Clown performer David Howard Thornton as a thinly-veiled riff on The Grinch, while horror films based on Peter Pan and Bambi are also in the works.
Mickey's First Short Steamboat Willie Enters The Public Domain In 2024
For decades, loveable Mickey Mouse has been Disney's mascot. While a horror movie featuring Mickey has yet to be announced, the fact his debut short Steamboat Willie enters the public domain in 2024 could change that. As covered in The NY Times, the copyright expiration doesn't open the floodgates for other filmmakers to use Mickey Mouse (who Carl Barks only drew once). Disney will still hold the rights to later iterations; for instance, the Steamboat Willie version lacks the his famous white gloves, nor does he speak. In theory, so long as filmmakers stick to elements present in the short and nothing from later works, they could adapt the short.
Of course, there's not much of a story in Steamboat Willie to work from, which sees Mickey causing mischief onboard an old-fashioned steamboat. That said, the sheer novelty of seeing a killer version of Mickey Mouse slashing unsuspecting victims in a Steamboat Willie movie will guarantee it returns a profit. There's little doubt indie filmmakers are probably prepping screenplays well ahead of 2024, but Disney isn't exactly known for backing down from legal fights either. The character trademark for Mickey himself - including the Steamboat Willie iteration - is still held by Disney, who might argue that any such hypothetical horror version violates trademark law.
Could Disney Get Another Copyright Extension On Steamboat Willie?
Disney also has very deep pockets to fight such a battle. They've fought fiercely in the past to gain extensions on Steamboat Willie too. The copyright to the short was first set to expire in 1983 and then again in 1997, and in both cases, Disney succeeded in pushing Congress to extend their copyright by decades. It appears no such extension will happen this time for the "House of Mouse," with Republication lawmakers even vowing (via The L.A. Times) to fight any such extension attempts. Whether 2024 sees Mickey Mouse appear in Bloodbath Willie and turning victims into makeshift musical instruments is another question.