Wolfman Reboot Starring Ryan Gosling Lands Invisible Man Director

[HARDY]

Universal's Wolfman reboot starring Ryan Gosling has found its director in The Invisible Man's Leigh Whannell. News of Gosling joining Wolfman in the title role broke in May. At the time, reports said the film was based on an original idea from Gosling himself, with the script being written by Lauren Shuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo. A reboot of the classic 1941 film starring Lon Chaney Jr., this Wolfman is said to maintain the supernatural elements of the original, but will also be set in the present day. No further casting aside from Gosling has been announced.

Back in 2017, Universal attempted to create a shared universe built around their stable of classic horror monsters. The first installment, The Mummy starring Tom Cruise, disappointed at the box office and received poor reviews. This forced the studio to shift directions, instead moving to smaller-budgeted efforts with unique stories. The Invisible Man became a major hit earlier this year thanks to its creative premise (a woman finds herself haunted by her abusive ex-husband after he turns himself invisible) and Elisabeth Moss' incredible lead performance.

Universal is now charging ahead with its next monster reboot, with Deadline reporting the studio has put Wolfman on the fast track for production. Whannell is in negotiations to direct, and Jason Blum has joined the project as a producer with Gosling. This means much of The Invisible Man's creative team has joined Wolfman, indicating just how pleased Universal is with the horror film's performance.It's also noted that Whannell is writing the treatment for Wolfman, which is both based on his original idea and inspired by the 1941 film. Shuker Blum and Angelo are still attached to write the script, and it isn't clear if Whannell's idea will be merged with Gosling's original pitch. Regardless, Universal is clearly excited to produce the next film in their Classic Movie Monsters initiative.

With Whannell now attached as a director, it can be assumed that development on Wolfman will start picking up. Once the script is complete, the rest of the cast beyond Gosling will be fleshed out. It'll be interesting to see how this reboot offers a fresh spin on the iconic character; if it comes out anything like The Invisible Man, it'll be another win for Universal. The studio also has a few other monster-related projects in the works, like Elizabeth Banks' The Invisible Woman and Paul Feig's Dark Army, thus ensuring audiences will have plenty of thrills in their future.

[CGTitan]

Third time's a charm. Or is it fourth? Anyway after remaking the Wolfman in 2010, and after the debacle of the Dark Universe, is it any wonder why Blumhouse is trying to cash in their Invisible Man remake, with another attempt at producing a unified universe for the Universal Monsters? It worked in the 1930's and 1940's. It should eventually go well soon, hopefully.