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Disney’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Ride Getting Monstrous Halloween Makeover
What if the Guardians had their own Halloween special?
Earlier this year, Disneyland’s Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror ride was sadly shut down, making room for new ride Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout! to come in and take over the locale it had long occupied. The drop-tower ride, based on James Gunn’s film, was opened at Disney California Adventure this past May.
Now, just a few short months later, the ride is getting a fresh new makeover for the Halloween season. Ensuring that it’ll fit in with the park’s general Halloween theme between September 15 and October 31, Mission: Breakout! will become Guardians of the Galaxy – Monsters After Dark!
The attraction will transform each evening. The Collector’s Fortress goes dark, alarms sound and all-new lighting on the exterior of the Fortress alerts guests that something inside has gone awry.
“In Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout!, Rocket finds his pals trapped in the Fortress of The Collector, Taneleer Tivan, and guests assist him with a daring escape plan. The Monsters After Dark transformation picks up moments afterward, as Rocket discovers that in the hurry to free his friends, they have inadvertently left Groot behind. Now Rocket needs to distract all the monsters he has unleashed inside the Fortress, and he enlists the guests to help while he rescues his little friend.”
In keeping with the dark humor of the experience, all-new 70s-style punk rock song, “Monsters After Dark,” enhances the thrill of the experience. The song was written for the attraction by Tyler Bates, composer for the Guardians of the Galaxy films.
In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war, but it was a cheerful illustrator from England who helped to define the terrifying war-torn imagery that inspired what we now know as Grimdark (a hybrid genre combining horror with sci-fi/fantasy).
Unfortunately for fans of Warhammer 40,000, Trench Crusade and countless other sources of Grimdark thrills, veteran artist John Blanche passed away this week after struggling with health issues for the past few years.
While the artist retired back in 2023, he leaves us with an enormous legacy of iconic artwork that continues to inspire gamers and storytellers around the world to this very day.
The news is especially gloomy as it was only last year that Daniel Lowman and Napoleon Dynamite himself Jon Heder released The Grim & the Dark: The Search for John Blanche, a documentary following Heder’s exploration of the Grimdark genre culminating in a heartwarming encounter with Blanche in his own home.
Below is one of my favorite pieces by Blanche, his highly influential depiction of Warhammer 40k’s God-Emperor of Mankind on his Golden Throne.
We send our deepest condolences to John Blanche’s family, friends, and fans.
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