A Simpsons Showrunner Said at D23 That the Process Is Beginning to Bring Treehouse of Horror to Universal, Starting With Food
A Universal Halloween story broke on a stage at Disney’s own fan convention.
During "The Simpsons: Stories from Springfield" panel at D23, an audience member asked whether there had ever been talks about bringing Treehouse of Horror to Halloween Horror Nights. Showrunner Matt Selman answered, and then flagged that he was not sure he was allowed to.
Per WDW News Today, which worked from the caption on an Instagram post about the exchange, Selman stopped short of calling it an announcement, then said they are going to "begin the process of Treehouse of Horror-ing the Universal experience, probably first with food and experience later."
What was said, and what was not
Laughing Place covered the panel and was careful about the limits. Its headline calls the report "Reportedly Bringing Treehouse of Horror to Universal Studios," and it notes that nothing is officially confirmed, that Selman acknowledged uncertainty about whether he should have disclosed it, and that the panel never settled whether this would be a fall daytime offering or something tied specifically to Halloween Horror Nights, or whether it means Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal Orlando Resort, or both.
So this is not an announcement. It is a showrunner saying the process is about to start, and that food comes first.
The setting is less strange than it looks. Laughing Place notes that speculation about the show’s future at Universal has run hot lately, mostly because The Simpsons is now owned by Disney. Universal, for its part, is the company that operates Springfield and The Simpsons Ride.
He said more about it in April
Attractions Magazine surfaced earlier and blunter comments from a bonus clip of the "Staying Alive" podcast. Adam Pally and Jon Gabrus host it, and the episode in question was taped in Los Angeles back on April 21, 2026. Its write-up also goes further than the D23 quote does, reporting that Selman pointed to Springfield at Universal Studios Hollywood as where the overlays will start. That is a resort-specific detail Laughing Place’s account of the same panel says was never given.
"Something we’ve never done, which is insane, is Halloweenize it [The Simpsons Ride and Springfield U.S.A.] for Halloween," Selman said on that episode. After Pally asked whether he meant Horror Nights, Selman continued: "Because we’ve been talking about it for years, we never did it. Horror Nights is their biggest thing and Halloween is our biggest thing, and the fact that we haven’t done that… so we have a lot of fun ideas for Halloween-ifying the Simpsons experience throughout."
He also set expectations on timing, and they stretch across two seasons rather than landing on one. "Everything has to have a huge lead time so ’27 will be the best version of that," he said, before adding, "We’ve got some fun great ideas for ’26."
He addressed the ride itself as well. Selman said "the nuts and bolts of the ride stay the same," with the talks so far amounting to what he called "really good meetings about adding scariness and silliness around the outside of the ride and specifically for Halloween."
Where this sits against this year’s event
In Orlando, Halloween Horror Nights 35 opens August 28, 2026 and runs on 48 select nights through November 1. Universal bills the 35th year as its "most expansive Halloween Horror Nights event ever" at the Orlando resort, with 10 all-new haunted houses and Universal Studios Florida transformed into the "Infernal Carnival of Nightmares." None of the 10 houses announced so far involves The Simpsons, and Universal’s press room carries no release about a Treehouse of Horror addition. Worth repeating, though: Universal Studios Hollywood runs its own Halloween Horror Nights, and nobody on the D23 stage said which resort was meant.
Read against Selman’s own timeline, that is at least consistent. Some fun ideas for 2026, the best version in 2027.
Sources
- Laughing Place, "‘The Simpsons’ Reportedly Bringing Treehouse of Horror to Universal Studios"
- WDW News Today, "Simpsons Springfield, U.S.A. Will Receive ‘Treehouse of Horror’ Overlays at Universal Studios"
- Attractions Magazine, on Matt Selman’s Universal comments
- Universal Orlando Resort press release, Halloween Horror Nights 35
Image credits: Featured image by Laughing Place (Mike Celestino): a photo of the Springfield entrance sign at Universal Studios Hollywood, not Universal Orlando, with a Treehouse of Horror logo laid over it. Panel stills from video by Instagram user @mattrheid, via WDW News Today.
