Wolf Man (2025 film) explained

Director:Leigh Whannell
Producer:Jason Blum
Cinematography:Stefan Duscio
Distributor:Universal Pictures
Country:United States
Language:English

Wolf Man is an upcoming American supernatural horror film directed by Leigh Whannell from a screenplay by the writing teams of Whannell and Corbett Tuck, and Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo. It is a reboot of the 1941 film The Wolf Man. The film stars Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner. Jason Blum serves as a producer through his Blumhouse Productions banner, alongside Motel Movies.

The film is set to be released by Universal Pictures on January 17, 2025.

Premise

A man seeks to protect himself and his family from a dangerous werewolf at night during a full moon.

Cast

Production

In July 2014, Universal Pictures announced its plan to reboot its "Classic Monsters" franchise, a series of horror films produced from the 1930s to the 1950s, and its properties as part of a shared universe dubbed the Dark Universe.[1] [2] In November 2014, Aaron Guzikowski was confirmed to be writing the reboot of Universal's The Wolf Man (1941), featuring the character of the same name.[3] [4] In June 2016, Deadline Hollywood reported on rumors that Universal wanted to cast Dwayne Johnson in the title role.[5] By October, development on the film began moving forward, and David Callaham was hired to rewrite the screenplay.[6] In 2017, The Mummy was released as the first film in the Dark Universe; its launch was both a critical and commercial failure, and resulted in Universal deciding to shift its focus on individual storytelling and move away from the shared universe concept with the cancelation of The Wolf Man and other films in development.[7]

Reporter Justin Kroll said the critical and commercial success of Leigh Whannell's The Invisible Man for Universal "scrap[ped] the universe concept" and loosened restrictions for the talent in front and behind the camera, allowing them to decide how they wanted to execute their films in terms of budget and MPAA rating and invite "big name talent" to pitch their ideas. By early 2020, Universal had been hearing project ideas for a year and a half from filmmakers seeking to develop other characters in the franchise. These meetings included Ryan Gosling's pitch to remake The Wolf Man and star in it, with Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo writing a screenplay described as tonally similar to Nightcrawler (2014). Several filmmakers were considered to direct, including Cory Finley, whose film Thoroughbreds (2017) was reportedly well liked by Universal,[8] and Whannell, who was advised by The Invisible Man producer Jason Blum to reconsider after initially declining. (In February 2020, Whanell had mentioned his interest in making a werewolf film during a press interview for The Invisible Man.)[9] In July, Whannell entered negotiations to write a film treatment and direct.[10] After Whannell left the project due to scheduling conflicts, Derek Cianfrance entered negotiations to write and direct in October 2021, having previously directed Gosling in Blue Valentine (2010) and The Place Beyond the Pines (2012).[11]

In December 2023, Cianfrance and Gosling were reported to have exited the project, with Whannell taking over the directing duties, along with the screenplay alongside Corbett Tuck, Schuker Blum, and Angelo. Gosling, who retained an executive producer credit, was replaced by Christopher Abbott in the lead role.[12] In 2024, Julia Garner, Sam Jaeger, and Matilda Firth joined the cast.[13] [14] [15] Principal photography began on March 17, 2024, in Mangaroa, Upper Hutt, New Zealand, with Stefan Duscio as cinematographer.[16] [17]

Release

Wolf Man is scheduled to be released in the United States on January 17, 2025.[18] It was previously scheduled to be released on October 25, 2024.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Invasion of the Horror Franchises. limited. October 24, 2014. J.. Hoberman. J. Hoberman. The New York Times. https://web.archive.org/web/20211028022600/https://www.nytimes.com/vi-assets/static-assets/global-2c70a72e6a867f256c6ccdf508c13728.css. October 28, 2021. live. October 28, 2021.
  2. Web site: Universal Taps Alex Kurtzman, Chris Morgan To Relaunch Classic Movie Monster Franchises. July 16, 2014. Mike Jr.. Fleming. Deadline Hollywood. https://web.archive.org/web/20211028021555/https://deadline.com/2014/07/universal-classic-movie-monsters-805169/. October 28, 2021. live. October 28, 2021.
  3. Web site: Will Justin Lin Rev Fast & Furious Finale?. November 12, 2014. Mike Jr.. Fleming. Deadline Hollywood. https://web.archive.org/web/20211028023055/https://deadline.com/2014/11/fast-and-furious-sequels-justin-lin-universal-1201282337/. October 28, 2021. live. October 28, 2021.
  4. Web site: Sony Confirms Dark Matter; Universal Confirms Aaron Guzikowski To Write Wolfman. November 12, 2014. Mike Jr.. Fleming. Deadline Hollywood. https://web.archive.org/web/20211026033655/https://deadline.com/2014/11/dark-matter-blake-crouch-aaron-guzikowski-the-wolfman-1201282922/. October 26, 2021. live. October 28, 2021.
  5. Web site: Dwayne Johnson Sets Jay Longino Graphic Novel Son Of Shaolin At Sony. June 22, 2016. Mike Jr.. Fleming. Deadline Hollywood. https://web.archive.org/web/20211028023518/https://deadline.com/2016/06/dwayne-johnson-son-of-shaolin-jay-longino-graphic-novel-ryan-kalil-1201777586/. October 28, 2021. live. October 28, 2021.
  6. Web site: Universal Taps The Expendables Writer to Pen The Wolf Man (Exclusive). October 13, 2016. Rebecca. Ford. The Hollywood Reporter. https://web.archive.org/web/20211028024619/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/universal-taps-expendables-writer-pen-937520/. October 28, 2021. live. October 28, 2021.
  7. Web site: Universal's Monsterverse in Peril as Top Producers Exit (Exclusive). November 8, 2017. Borys. Kit. Aaron. Couch. The Hollywood Reporter. https://web.archive.org/web/20211028030159/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/alex-kurtzman-chris-morgan-exit-universal-monsterverse-1055854/. October 28, 2021. live. October 28, 2021.
  8. Web site: Ryan Gosling's Wolfman Gears Up at Universal as Director Decision Nears (Exclusive). May 29, 2020. Justin. Kroll. Variety. https://web.archive.org/web/20211026232221/https://variety.com/2020/film/news/ryan-gosling-wolfman-movie-universal-1203426491/. October 26, 2021. live. October 27, 2021.
  9. Web site: Leigh Whannell: The Invisible Man interview. February 22, 2020. Anthony. O'Connor. FilmInk. July 20, 2024. Event occurs at 8:05.
  10. Web site: Ryan Gosling's Wolfman Howling At Universal As Director Leigh Whannell & Blumhouse Join The Pack. July 8, 2021. Mike Jr.. Fleming. Deadline Hollywood. https://web.archive.org/web/20211026234458/https://deadline.com/2020/07/wolfman-ryan-gosling-leigh-whannell-universal-pictures-blumhouse-the-invisible-man-1202980413/. October 26, 2021. live. October 27, 2021.
  11. Web site: Ryan Gosling And Universal's Wolfman Sets Derek Cianfrance As Director. October 26, 2021. Justin. Kroll. Deadline Hollywood. https://web.archive.org/web/20211026235815/https://deadline.com/2021/10/ryan-goslings-wolfman-derek-cianfrance-1234857455/. October 26, 2021. live. October 27, 2021.
  12. Web site: Christopher Abbott Replacing Ryan Gosling to Star in Wolf Man for Blumhouse, Universal (Exclusive) . December 13, 2023 . Borys . Kit . . https://web.archive.org/web/20231213182821/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/wolfman-ryan-gosling-drops-out-christopher-abbott-1235746506/ . December 13, 2023 . live . December 13, 2023.
  13. Web site: Julia Garner To Star In Blumhouse & Universal's Wolf Man. January 5, 2024. Anthony. D'Alessandro. Deadline Hollywood. January 5, 2024.
  14. Web site: D'Alessandro . Anthony . Blumhouse's Wolf Man Adds The Handmaids Tales Sam Jaeger . . March 27, 2024 . March 27, 2024.
  15. Web site: D'Alessandro . Anthony . Blumhouse & Universal's Wolf Man Adds Matilda Firth . . April 18, 2024 . April 18, 2024.
  16. Web site: D'Alessandro . Anthony . Blumhouse's Wolf Man Adds The Handmaids Tales Sam Jaeger . . March 27, 2024 . March 27, 2024.
  17. . jason_blum . 1769527758995251632 . March 17, 2024 . Day one on the set of Wolf Man. Director Leigh Whannell pictured here. LFG!!! : Nicola Dove/Universal Pictures and @blumhouse . March 18, 2024 . https://twitter.com/jason_blum/status/1769527758995251632 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240318012503/https://twitter.com/jason_blum/status/1769527758995251632 . March 18, 2024.
  18. Web site: D'Alessandro . Anthony . Blumhouse's Wolf Man Runs From Fall To MLK Weekend 2025; The Woman In The Yard Unset For Now . . March 29, 2024 . March 29, 2024.

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