Back in late May, Universal had been seeking directors for Wolfman. Invisible Man director Leigh Whannell is currently in talks to helm its upcoming monster feature, which stars Ryan Gosling. Blumhouse, which teamed with Whannell previously in Invisible Man, is on board to produce the project.
In addition to directing, Whannell will be writing the treatment for the film, based on an original idea of his own. Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo, who wrote Netflix’s Orange is the New Black, penned the script.
Details for the plot are not revealed yet. However, sources say that Gosling would play an anchorman who gets infected. The script has been described as having intense, creepy vibes, a combination of the films Network (1976) and Nightcrawler (2014).
Universal’s original The Wolf Man debuted in 1941 with Lon Chaney, Jr., in the titular role. The studio had originally planned on creating The Dark Universe, an interconnected world with its vast catalog of monster movies. However, after Tom Cruise’s The Mummy underperformed both by critics and the box office, the studio decided to move forward with filmmaker-driven projects based on the monsters’ legacies instead.
Besides Wolfman, other monster movie projects being developed by Universal include Elizabeth Banks’ The Invisible Woman, Karyn Kusama’s Dracula, Dexter Fletcher’s Dracula-themed Renfield, and Paul Feig’s Dark Army.
The Invisible Man grossed more than $124 million at the worldwide box office despite most theaters closing a few weeks after the Elisabeth Moss feature opened in late February. Whannell and Blumhouse have collaborated on numerous projects, including the four films in the Insidious franchise.
Though Whannell is negotiating with the studio, with his previous horror project deemed a successful hit and his connections to Blumhouse, he stands as a strong contender for Ryan Gosling’s highly anticipated Wolfman.
Leave a Comment