Months after finding great success withThe Invisible Man, Universal is moving forward withWolfmanwith Ryan Gosling set to star as the classic movie monster. Reportedly, Universal executives have brought in Gosling to lead the monster movie, and the search for a director is also under way. Multiple names are said to be considered with no clear frontrunner at this time, butBad Educationhelmer Cory Finley’s name is reportedly in the mix. With a star already in place, the project seems to be on the fast track, so a situation regarding the director is likely to be made soon. Universal has declined to comment on the reports as of this writing.
Orange Is the New Blackwriters Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo wrote the screenplay for the newWolfmanbased on an original pitch byRyan Gosling. No plot details on this particular take on the classic story have been confirmed, but word is the movie will be “set in present times and in the vein of Jake Gyllenhaal’s thrillerNightcrawler, with an obvious supernatural twist.” What we can presume is that the story will also primarily follow a man who turns into a werewolf and may or may not attack others, as it is a movie about the classic Woflman after all.
Initially, Universal had planned to launch a vast, interconnected movie universe akin to the MCU (aka Universal’sMonsterverse) when they releasedThe Mummywith Tom Cruise in 2017. Unfortunately, the movie bombed at the box office and was universally panned by critics. Universal has since gone in a new direction with their monster movies moving forward, opting to produce simpler stories from visionary filmmakers with much more modest budgets. Beginning with this year’sThe Invisible Manfrom writer and director Leigh Whannell, the studio has already found great success with this strategy, so it’s not surprising to seeother movies based on the Universal Monstersgoing into production soon as well.
Universal’s first werewolf picture dates back to 1935’sWerewolf of Londonwith Henry Hull starring as the hairy creature. Lon Chaney Jr. would later famously star as the titular monster when the studio releasedThe Wolf Manin 1941; soon after, he would meet Bela Lugosi as Frankenstein’s monster in the crossover movieFrankenstein Meets the Wolf Man. More recently, the legendary monster was portrayed by Benicio del Toro in the 2010 movieThe Wolfmanfrom director Joe Johnston, but likeThe Mummy, the movie was pelted with negative reviews from critics upon its release and failed in theaters as a box office bomb.
If Gosling’s newWolfmanmovie isanything like The Invisible Man, it’s going to be a fresh take on the classic story that’s well worth watching. Already, there seems to be a heavy amount of interest from fans on social media, so anticipation is beginning to mount quickly for the upcoming movie. More updates on the project will likely be made available soon and it’s a matter of time before the movie’s director is named. This news was first reported byVariety.
