Halloween Horror Nights 32 (UOR) - Speculation & Rumors

[Fear2010]

With Mardi Gras coming on February, will they reveal the dates for this year’s HHN and start the general admission to sell tickets this month or will that come later? If It does happen this soon, then they could do it on the 13th next week.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

The issue I always have is putting the cart before the horse, or in this instance, focusing on speculation as the product and not the event. 25 ruined speculation IMHO.

 

[RedRightDan]

Licensing an IP is not shopping at Amazon. There are numerous reasons why a license doesn’t happen: costs, timing, likenesses, to disagreements on specific elements and scenes that appear.

Those are two of the reasons that I believe Scream will be too difficult for the foreseeable future to actually achieve the way that Uni (and fans) would want to see it.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

The issue I always have is putting the cart before the horse, or in this instance, focusing on speculation as the product and not the event. 25 ruined speculation IMHO.

Could you elaborate on this? I wasn't around for 25 and this sounds .. quite interesting, to be honest.

I've always seemed to struggle with what exactly the definition of "speculation" is, because to be honest, there would be a "reason" for most IPs to come.

 

[Midnight Detective]

Could you elaborate on this? I wasn't around for 25 and this sounds .. quite interesting, to be honest.

I've always seemed to struggle with what exactly the definition of "speculation" is, because to be honest, there would be a "reason" for most IPs to come.

Not an expert on either topic so I'm sure there's more to add:

1. Scream at HHN 25 was at the release of the new show and was to be a promotion for it. If you've seen anything about the show, the first season mask is new and not immediately indicative of Scream. The rights to the costume are separate from the IP - Wes Craven wanted the costume to be something that anyone, like the killers, could just go buy from the store (This is why Dead by Deadlight has a Ghostface killer but isn't a licensed killer from Scream. You can get the rights to one without the other). What really caused issues however is that the house had no ties to the new show, and was entirely based around the first film. If you watch a walkthrough of the Purge that year its a one-to-one of film moments with different killers and Purge graffiti. It was a gambit by HHN to get an IP that they had wanted for sometime. Rights holders were NOT happy when they saw the final result and pulled the rights last minute, forcing Universal to do a quick re-theming.

2. That's not you're fault at all lol. Speculation imo needs to have a reason, whether is be related to:

Timing - new release, anniversary, etc
Rights - can the property be acquired, relations with IP holders
Desire - does HHN want it
Popularity - will it bring people to the event
Hints- has someone pointed signs towards it

Anything to base around why someone believes a property or theme will be coming. Something can still hit a few markers and still be absolutely just wishful thinking though. If there is a reason behind the belief, and evidence, and you can show it, it's speculation. That's where the fun of speculation comes from. Piecing together information and figuring out what awaits before the information is released to the general public.

I'm sure others have more to add, but that's the methodology I follow at least.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

Not an expert on either topic so I'm sure there's more to add:

1. Scream at HHN 25 was at the release of the new show and was to be a promotion for it. If you've seen anything about the show, the first season mask is new and not immediately indicative of Scream. The rights to the costume are separate from the IP - Wes Craven wanted the costume to be something that anyone, like the killers, could just go buy from the store (This is why Dead by Deadlight has a Ghostface killer but isn't a licensed killer from Scream. You can get the rights to one without the other). What really caused issues however is that the house had no ties to the new show, and was entirely based around the first film. If you watch a walkthrough of the Purge that year its a one-to-one of film moments with different killers and Purge graffiti. It was a gambit by HHN to get an IP that they had wanted for sometime. Rights holders were NOT happy when they saw the final result and pulled the rights last minute, forcing Universal to do a quick re-theming.

2. That's not you're fault at all lol. Speculation imo needs to have a reason, whether is be related to:

Timing - new release, anniversary, etc
Rights - can the property be acquired, relations with IP holders
Desire - does HHN want it
Popularity - will it bring people to the event
Hints- has someone pointed signs towards it

Anything to base around why someone believes a property or theme will be coming. Something can still hit a few markers and still be absolutely just wishful thinking though. If there is a reason behind the belief, and evidence, and you can show it, it's speculation. That's where the fun of speculation comes from. Piecing together information and figuring out what awaits before the information is released to the general public.

I'm sure others have more to add, but that's the methodology I follow at least.

1. Gotcha - I knew somewhat about the Scream issues but I wasn't sure that's what Joe meant by saying 25 ruined spec. So the house at 25 was really only supposed to be about the show, but Uni just kinda did their own thing and made it about the movie? If that's the case... I get why Miramax was mad lol

2. Thank you for this breakdown! When I bring up possible IPs/ideas in here, I try to follow those guidelines but hey, sometimes things fall through the cracks lol

 

[Midnight Detective]

I wasn't sure that's what Joe meant by saying 25 ruined spec.

Scream exposed a lot of people to how volatile rights can be. What a lot of people have mentioned is now people take that volatility into account to discount potential properties which is bonkers. Rights to anything, not just at HHN, are always dynamic and negotiable.

focusing on speculation as the product and not the event.

Modern speculation threads compared to years ago contain a lot of guessing in regards to does it fit the speculation mold:

a + b must equal c so d is/isn't happening

An example being, Scream had a rights problem thus the chance of Scream coming is zero. Scream can be discounted

If you look at it from an event perspective it's way simpler. Scream is a popular horror property, HHN would love to have it at the event. Whether or not that can happen is based on so many factors that can change on a dime, but the basis is there.

Again not an expert, I'm sure there's other opinions, and it's been discussed by many more knowledgeable, but I think that simplifies it a bit.

 

[Tobias]

Back to spec, with Evil Dead Rise now officially having a release date of April 21st, I'd say there's a pretty good chance it'll actually show up at the event this year. After all it does seem the reason it was dropped last year was due to its schedule change, making it perfectly viable to pick back up.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

Back to spec, with Evil Dead Rise now officially having a release date of April 21st, I'd say there's a pretty good chance it'll actually show up at the event this year. After all it does seem the reason it was dropped last year was due to its schedule change, making it perfectly viable to pick back up.

With the concept of it taking place in a high rise, I'm curious to see if they'd incorporate that into a house. Some forced perspective kind of stuff would be cool.

With TLOU releasing on HBO next week, I'm really curious to see how well-received the show is. It's genuinely a perfect fit for the event - and if the show is well-received I could see them making a push for it. Whether in the form of a zone or a house, it could be really cool.

 

[GentleArt309]

Weeks 3-4 are ideal for HHN. The scare actors and any ops issue should be resolved by then and the scare actors are warmed up. Legends Collide was not a great house until about week 3 when the cast decided to crank it up.

This year confirmed that opening weekend is not ideal for anyone visiting for a night or two.

HHN is busy every night now. No such thing as an empty night (including Wednesdays/Thursdays, which arguably could be busier than a Saturday some weeks). With the exception of the nights after Hurricane Ian, the event was absolutely packed.

THIS.... been going the 3rd week of Sept since 2006. This year we did 5 nights (wed thru sun) and it was bonkers EVERY night. Save up for those express passes kiddies!!!

 

[GentleArt309]

HHN 29, I think. I could've sworn I saw people on the 29 thread talking about Hellraiser and Pumpkinhead. :shrug:

that was probably just me talking about it non-stop LOL....

 

[Fear2010]

Back to spec, with Evil Dead Rise now officially having a release date of April 21st, I'd say there's a pretty good chance it'll actually show up at the event this year. After all it does seem the reason it was dropped last year was due to its schedule change, making it perfectly viable to pick back up.

Though I find the Exorcist to the be the most possible as a Supernatural representative for this year, but I could see this if not or for both. I’ve noticed some in the fan community questioning about the franchise’s relevance. Not sure why they felt that It isn’t popular as It used to be when It’s considered as a classic in today’s era.

 

[Tobias]

With the concept of it taking place in a high rise, I'm curious to see if they'd incorporate that into a house.

From the sounds of it before they had to tear it down, yes, they were. The two main things I recalled reading were of High Rise sets and a very female centric cast.

 

[HHN Maddux]

 

[Clive]

So I'm not sure if this is an indication they plan to use Phantom for Horror Nights, as I don't believe they filed any similar trademarks for the other monsters since they started to meaningfully reintroduce them in 2018.

However... per my understanding of basic trademark law, you can only successfully file for a trademark if you can demonstrate that you are actively using or are about to use the trademark in commerce. In other words, it's "use it or lose it," so they aren't filing this trademark for the fun of it. They intend to introduce Phantom into at least one park in some capacity.

It's possible that they are being extremely cautious and getting their ducks in a row if they intend to advertise a Phantom of the Opera haunted house this year and are concerned about potential IP disputes with another tourist-attracting Phantom of the Opera experience (even if the Broadway show is about to close).

 

[Tobias]

As some have mentioned, it could be more related to Epic Universe than Horror Nights. After all Phantom was present in 2019's Universal Monsters house, no trademark application necessary.

 

[reeseyNG]

Save up for those express passes kiddies!!!

This is gonna be my first non-local year so I'm definitely really excited to spend like $600 on my ticket alone... Yaaay....

As some have mentioned, it could be more related to Epic Universe than Horror Nights. After all Phantom was present in 2019's Universal Monsters house, no trademark application necessary.

Yeah the trademark thing is neat but I have no clue why it would be necessary for HHN... I'd KILL for a Phantom-centric Monsters house but I have a feeling it's gonna be Drac

 

[TheCodeMan95]

This is gonna be my first non-local year so I'm definitely really excited to spend like $600 on my ticket alone... Yaaay....


Yeah the trademark thing is neat but I have no clue why it would be necessary for HHN... I'd KILL for a Phantom-centric Monsters house but I have a feeling it's gonna be Drac

I will continue to beg for a Creature house.

Also - that Evil Dead Rise trailer ... WOW. If they want to bring that to the event, I'm in.

 

[Sir Austin]

Evil Dead Rise looks like it'll be absolutely terrifying. I hope they try and go through with it again at this year's event. After seeing M3GAN, I feel like it would actually translate pretty well into a campy/slasher house similar to the Freaky section of Blumhouse last year. There were a few scenes in particular that made me think "Okay, I could see this scene in a house." I definitely see it being the first half of the next installment. A full house would probably be a bit too redundant though. I guess we'll have to see how well the movie does.

 

[Darko]

I’m still hoping against hope that we get a Creature or Phantom house and not Dracula again.

Also just throwing this out there: I find it funny that HHN 23 had the whole “What Evil Has Taken Root?” slogan, as well as the roots on the archways, only for it to be The Walking Dead. HHN 31 felt like the perfect year for that archway and slogan and they wasted it on TWD. Just thought that was funny and thought I’d share.