Horror fans, we have some pretty good news! It appears the upcoming reboot of the Universal Pictures lycanthropy IP, simply titledWolf Man, is going for the jugular of standard horror. According to producer Jason Blum,the film is a pure horror movie that doesn’t exactly stay in safe territory in terms of gore.Director Leigh Whannell confidently agrees with this as he takes a break from editing and speaks about his future release.
Produced by Jason Blum through his studio, Blumhouse Productions,Wolf Manhas been in production since the early 2020s, when Universal noticed the potential of bringing back their catalog ofUniversal Classic Monsters, albeit with a refreshing take. Director Leigh Whannell had been attached to the project, but then, when Ryan Gosling entered the picture and brought along a pitch to be directed by Derek Cianfrance, there was a change of plans. Nevertheless, they exited the project, and Whannell reclaimed the director’s chair and imprinted his vision. Per Blum’sstatement to Entertainment Weekly:
Wolf Manis a straight-up horror movie. It’s ascaryhorror movie. I think most of theWolf Manmovies that came before this have been softer. I don’t mean that pejoratively. I just mean that this one is pretty hardcore.
Wolf Manstars Christopher Abbott, Julia Garner, Sam Jaeger and Matilda Firth. The film is set to open on August 24, 2025, with Universal Pictures distributing it worldwide. It’s a throwback to the original 1941 film but set in modern times. Abbot plays Blake, a family man who gets bitten by a strange creature and, during a full moon, he inevitably turns into a wolfman.
Is the Wolf Man Reboot Going to Be Scary Enough for Modern Audiences?
Sawalumn Leigh Whannell is no stranger to reigniting the fire under a long-dead horror franchise. In 2020,The Invisible Manblew up the box office and made almost $150 million. The film was critically acclaimed, and it still has a solid score of 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. The discussion of whether he would be good for another classic monster follow-up was almost unnecessary.
We’re still miles away from a result that could make Universal dust off its plans to relaunch amodernization of its catalog of Classic Monsters. Those plans died when films likeDracula UntoldandThe Mummydidn’t have the best results. However, it seems Whannell isn’t only making a modernWolf Manmovie. He’s making a movie that could make classic monsters scary again:
“These classic monsters like Dracula, the Wolf Man, Frankenstein have become so ubiquitous.
They’re a little bit safe now. My kids watch animated movies with those monsters running around and being voiced by Adam Sandler. So part of my thing with this movie was taking it out of that safe territory and putting it back in this truly horrific territory.”
In any case, he isn’t alone in his endeavor to bring the classics back to life. In the very near future, there are several big movies based on classic monster franchises that will be hitting the big screen.These include Maggie Gyllenhaal’sThe Bride- based onThe Bride of Frankenstein- Robert Egger’sNosferatu, Guillermo del Toro’sFrankenstein, and the James Wan remake of theCreature from the Black Lagoon.Whether all of these will succeed in bringing life to the old monsters is yet to be seen, but it seems that the old creatures from your grandparents' nightmares are ready to haunt another new generation.
Wolf Man is a reboot of the classic Universal Monsters movie The Wolfman. Christopher Abbott stars in the lead role and is helmed by The Invisible Man director Leigh Whannell. The film follows the same premise as the original and the 2010 reboot, focusing on a man who becomes a werewolf after falling victim to an ancient curse.
