The is on a rampage, barely two days in the public domain.

Slashed free of Disney鈥檚 copyright as of Monday, the iconic character from 鈥淪teamboat Willie鈥� is already the focus of two horror films. On Monday, just hours after the 1928 short entered the public domain, a trailer for 鈥淢ickey鈥檚 Mouse Trap鈥� dropped on YouTube. Another yet-to-be-titled film was announced Tuesday.

鈥淪teamboat Willie鈥� featured early versions of both Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks, it was the third cartoon featuring the duo they made but the first to be released. In it, a more menacing Mickey, bearing more resemblance to rat than mouse, captains a boat and makes musical instruments out of other animals.

It鈥檚 perhaps fitting, then, that the first projects announced are seemingly low-budget and campy slasher movies 鈥� and not unprecedented. 鈥� sans red shirt 鈥� entered the public domain in 2022; scarcely a year later, he was notching up a heavy body count in

In the trailer for 鈥淢ickey鈥檚 Mouse Trap,鈥� directed by Jamie Bailey, what appears to be a human in a comically small Mickey mask terrorizes a group of young people at an arcade.

鈥淎 place for fun. A place for friends. A place for hunting,鈥� text flashed during the trailer reads. 鈥淭he mouse is out.鈥�

鈥淲e just wanted to have fun with it all. I mean it鈥檚 Steamboat Willie鈥檚 Mickey Mouse murdering people,鈥� director Jamie Bailey said in a statement cited by trade publications. 鈥淚t鈥檚 ridiculous. We ran with it and had fun doing it and I think it shows.鈥�

No release date has been set.

The second movie is from director Steven LaMorte, who previously directed a horror parody of 鈥淭he Grinch,鈥� which is not in the public domain (the movie is thus called 鈥淭he Mean One鈥�).

鈥淎 late-night boat ride turns into a desperate fight for survival in New York City when a mischievous mouse becomes a monstrous reality,鈥� is the logline for the untitled film, per a post on LaMorte鈥檚 Instagram.

鈥淪teamboat Willie has brought joy to generations, but beneath that cheerful exterior lies a potential for pure, unhinged terror,鈥� LaMorte said in a release cited by the trades. The movie has yet to begin production.

With the expiration of the 95-year copyright, the public is allowed to use only the initial versions of Mickey and Minnie 鈥� not the more familiar character designs.

鈥淲e will, of course, continue to protect our rights in the more modern versions of Mickey Mouse and other works that remain subject to copyright,鈥� Disney said in a statement ahead of the characters entering the public domain.

LaMorte that the producers of his film are working with a legal team so as not to run afoul of Disney, and will call their raging rodent Steamboat Willie instead of Mickey Mouse.

鈥淲e are doing our due diligence to make sure there鈥檚 no question or confusion of what we鈥檙e up to,鈥� he said.

READ ALSO: