Disney Loses ‘Steamboat Willie’ Rights To Public Domain, Making Way For Mickey Mouse Horror Game And Slasher Film

Mickey Mouse as a… murderer? Disney’s 1928 short animated feature Steamboat Willie has entered the public domain, meaning the early version of the iconic character will now be available for use in all kinds of mediums. So, naturally, people wasted no time at all to announce their new Mickey Mouse projects, which so far include a slasher comedy and a survival horror game.

The horror movie, titled Mickey’s Mouse Trap, released a first-look trailer on Jan. 1, the same day the mouse entered the public domain.

According to a synopsis for the film, Mickey’s Mouse Trap takes place at an arcade where main character Alex is stuck working a late shift on her birthday.

“Her friends decide to surprise her, but a masked killer dressed as Mickey Mouse decides to play a game of his own with them which she must survive,” the synopsis reads, per The Hollywood Reporter.

Director Jamie Bailey said in a statement, “We just wanted to have fun with it all. I mean it’s Steamboat Willie‘s Mickey Mouse murdering people. It’s ridiculous. We ran with it and had fun doing it and I think it shows.”

The film does not yet have a release date or a streaming platform.

But that’s not all. A Mickey Mouse-inspired horror game has also been announced from Nightmare Forge games. Infestation 88 is a multiplayer survival game where you play “an exterminator treating sinister infestations caused by twisted versions of classic characters and urban legends.”

IGN reports the game is now in development for PC. Infestation 88 is expected to release sometime in 2024 on Steam.

These announcements come at no surprise considering Winnie the Pooh underwent the same treatment when the friendly bear entered the public domain two years ago.

Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey showed Pooh and his trusty friend Piglet going on a murdering spree after Christopher Robin abandons them for college, kind of like a twisted take on the Toy Story films.

Scroll up to check out the entire trailer for Mickey’s Mouse Trap.