Disney Making 'Space Mountain' Comic, Planning "Weird" Mystery Project

Once upon a time, the idea of crafting an entire media franchise around a Disneyland ride seemed ridiculous. Four Pirates of the Caribbean movies and billions of box office dollars later, Disney has the last laugh.

Bolstered by that success, the studio is now looking to tell another new story based on one of its classic theme park attractions. Disney Press will publish Space Mountain: A Graphic Novel next year, inspired by the roller coaster of the same name.

Additionally, there are hints that the studio is also looking to turn an attraction that never was, The Museum of the Weird, into a possible comic book. Or so we think. Hit the jump for details on both projects, including a peek at some artwork from Space Mountain.

The year is 2125 and the Magellan Science Academy has given two lucky cadets "golden tickets" to join a team of space explorers on a special field trip to journey 24 hours into the future. But when their mission goes unexpectedly wrong, the two kids must band together with a miniature flying saucer sidekick to save themselves and their crew–and return to Space Mountain–before time runs out and the universe is destroyed!

If the story seems a bit juvenile, well, Amazon does put the age range as 8 and up. Bleeding Cool reports that the book will be the first in a trilogy, with the first installment due to hit shelves on May 6, 2014. Although the Space Mountain ride (both the Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris versions) will certainly appear in the novel, so will other Disney attractions.

Brian Q. Miller (Smallville) wrote Space Mountain, with illustrations by Kelley Jones (Batman, Sandman). The first image below is the first inked page from Jones, while the second includes studies of Space Mountain and the Moonliner rocket.

More details are expected to be revealed at New York Comic-Con this fall.

Meanwhile, this weekend's D23 promises the announcement of an all-new project from Marvel and Disney. The cryptic teaser image simply tells event attendees to "ask for something WEIRD," with no further clues about what that something might be.

Marvel.com indicates that the mystery project is a comic book, potentially based on Walt Disney's concept for The Museum of the Weird. Plans for the attraction were ultimately scrapped, with some of the more notable components being incorporated into the Haunted Mansion, but the company hasn't forgotten it completely. A few years back, the studio eyed a possible movie based on the idea.

Elsewhere, Newsarama suggests that the "something WEIRD" could be a movie about Dr. Strange or the Inhumans. On the one hand, Marvel's Kevin Feige has indeed promised that a Dr. Strange film would be forthcoming. On the other, the Museum of the Weird comic seems like the more obvious explanation given the very specific wording. But even that doesn't fit perfectly — note that the "WEIRD" thing will be at the Parks & Resorts Pavilion.

Whatever it turns out to be, expect to hear all about it in our coverage of D23 this weekend.