Though The Princess is an original Hulu movie, it’s still technically part of the Disney family. With 20th Century Studios acting as a studio under its parent company’s wide banner, Joey King’s titular action hero can be considered a part of the same family that gave us Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Merida. As such, that means that if they really wanted to, Disney Parks could bring this character to life through a thrill ride of her own. Which is fantastic, considering that King has an A+ concept for making that happen.
With all sorts of new experiences coming to Disneyland and its theme park siblings, what was once an oddball question is now a valid concern. No one knows where the next exciting thrill ride will come next, so the press day for The Princess was a good time to start spinning those wheels in another direction. When asked what her ideal ride concept would be for her character’s perilous journey, Joey King painted the following picture for CinemaBlend:
I want a medieval ride where … you know how big a part of the movie the staircase sequence is? My uncle used to put me in a laundry basket and push me down the stairs, because he’s insane. So I feel like a version of that, where you’re in like a roller coaster box ride, and they push you down the staircase while everyone’s fighting around you? Now that would be amazing.
Without spoilers, The Princess is an R-rated action spectacular in which The Princess has to fight her way to the bottom of the tower she’s been imprisoned in. One of the set piece highlights is a sequence where Joey King’s protagonist has to fight her way through hordes of soldiers trying to recapture her.
Battling both up and down the staircase that connects the entire structure, a lot of adrenaline fueled moments are in play. One of which happens to be King using an enemy soldier as something of a surfboard, so she can jump to a lower level without injuring herself. With details like that, you can see why The Princess’ star and executive producer would want to use this moment as the template for a Disney Parks ride.
If you want to see some of what I’m talking about, you should watch the trailer for The Princess provided below. Pay close attention to the section between 00:52 and 00:57, as the staircase sequence is featured prominently through that stretch:
It’s not that weird of an idea when you truly think about it. This ride concept already sounds like something along the lines of Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout or The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, as that’s the sort of vertical ride system that would best convey the stair battle seen in The Princess. Animatronic figures, or even video projections, would naturally show off the action that populates the ride’s busy background, as riders escape with The Princess to safety.
The big finish would naturally be the huge drop that awaits riders, sending them down to the bottom of the tower, seeing Joey King’s character celebrated in her victory. It’s easy enough to translate The Princess into an action spectacle that families could enjoy, without the blood or intense level of violence shown in director Le-Van Kiet’s film. Plus, it’d be an interesting point of trivia, as this dream ride would be the first R-rated movie to get a Disney Parks attraction.
“Dream” is the operative word in this scenario, as it doesn’t feel likely that the powers that be would weave The Princess into the theme park arm of its family ties. Unless Joey King’s royal rumbler becomes insanely popular on the same level as Star Wars, you may want to keep those hopes in check. Should there ever come a day where Disney Hollywood Studios’ fears about losing The Twilight Zone license come true, it couldn't hurt to use this fresh idea that could draw people to the park out of curiosity alone.
If you’re intrigued to see why this scene from The Princess is worthy of a theme park ride, you’ll need to have a Hulu subscription to take this ride. Meanwhile, you can catch Joey King getting into the action all over again in the upcoming movie Bullet Train, which opens in theaters on August 5th.
