They won’t stop making Mickey Mouse horror movies – and now a Steamboat Willie slasher is on the way

Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse
(Image credit: Disney)

There are now four Mickey Mouse horror movies on the way – and it's all thanks to public domain.

According to BloodyDisgusting, another Mickey Mouse horror movie based on the 1928 movie Steamboat Willie is in the works. The Mouse Experiment "follows a group of friends stuck at a fairground amusement park hunted down by a mutated rat – Steamboat Willie."

When Steamboat Willie was announced as public domain just nine months ago, two movies were already in the works. Mickey's Mousetrap, directed by Jason Bailey via Into Frame Productions, follows a girl and her friends as they get hunted down by a masked killer dressed as Mickey Mouse on her 21st birthday. Screamboat, directed by Steven LaMorte, stars Terrifier's David Howard Thorton as a murderous Steamboat Willie – yes, Art the Clown himself.

Mouseboat Massacre was announced just last week. Director Andrea M. Catinella told BloodyDisgusting that the movie sees "the most beloved childhood character becomes an endless nightmare," adding, "Imagine Pennywise wearing the most famous rat mask."

It's worth noting that only Steamboat Willie has become public domain, and Disney has the right to sue the pants off of any studio that uses "Mickey Mouse" anywhere in the film. These Mickey Mouse horror films are also not part of the "Poohniverse," which includes those upcoming Cinderella, Peter Pan, and Winnie the Pooh indie horrors.

The Mouse Experiment will be released on VOD in October. For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies in 2024 and beyond, or, skip right to the good stuff with our list of movie release dates.

Lauren Milici
Senior Writer, Tv & Film

Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for 12DOVE currently based in the Midwest. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.

Read more
David Howard Thornton as Art The Clown in Terrifier 3
First look at Art the Clown actor as a twisted Mickey Mouse in upcoming slasher movie has horror fans divided
Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey
Divisive 2023 horror movie Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey caught a lot of backlash from fans – but producer says they never gave the movie a chance
Bambi in The Reckoning
Bambi decapitates a man, chases victims through the woods, and ruins your childhood in new trailer for twisted horror from the creators of Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey
Lea Myren as Elvira in The Ugly Stepsister
Cinderella body horror movie that made viewers sick gets release date, and it’s coming very soon
The toy monkey in Osgood Perkins' new horror comedy The Monkey
The Monkey director explains how a bizarre copyright issue actually improved the comedy horror movie: "Thanks, Disney!"
Sinners
The most exciting upcoming horror movies coming in 2025 and beyond
Latest in Horror Movies
Lea Myren as Elvira in The Ugly Stepsister
Cinderella body horror movie that made viewers sick gets release date, and it’s coming very soon
Indy in Ben Leonberg's haunted house horror Good Boy
Good Boy, a new scary movie told from a dog's POV, is being called "one of the best horror films of the year"
Cujo
Netflix is making a brand new adaptation of Cujo, the infamous Stephen King book about a killer dog
Drop
New horror movie starring White Lotus and Yellowstone actors gets a great Rotten Tomatoes score as early reactions call it the "perfect date night movie"
Clown in a Cornfield
First reactions to new clown horror movie say the slasher is giving Terrifier a run for its money
The House of the Dead first look 'Test Subjects'
Resident Evil director offers update on his horror movie adaptation of Until Dawn-sounding video game from over 20 years ago: "It's going to be very, very scary"
Latest in News
The Witcher 3
Resident Evil and Witcher 3 mocap director says video game industry layoffs have made it so "nothing is guaranteed," but AI won’t be replacing real actors "anytime soon"
Rift Apart
Retiring Insomniac boss says developers should still tackle new genres, but it's much riskier these days due to time and money
Atomfall screenshot
Atomfall dev doesn’t understand how massive development teams manage to keep organised: "How do you organize a game that has 2,000 people working on it?"
Stardew Valley Baldur's Gate 3 mod Baldur's Village
Stardew Valley player bringing a bit of Baldur's Gate 3 to ConcernedApe's farming sim, now with Larian's seal of approval, says they've played over 1,500 hours and will improve the mod
A Monster Hunter Wilds character holding binoculars.
Monster Hunter Wilds' final boss is even cooler than we thought: series experts point out attacks stitched together from iconic monsters throughout the series
This is Spinal Tap
First Spinal Tap 2 teaser reveals release date for comedy sequel that’s over 40 years in the making