#Blumhouse’s Wolfman Remake Teams Ryan Gosling with Invisible Man Director

The Wolfman remake is gaining traction fast. Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions have tapped Leigh Whannell to direct the upcoming monster movie, which has Ryan Gosling attached to star. Gosling, it was reported in May, has been working to develop the project, with various filmmakers in the mix for the gig. Now, Whannell has emerged and will take the helm for yet another classic Universal monsters revamp.

According to a new report, Leigh Whannell will direct Wolfman with Ryan Gosling in the lead role. Whannell will also write a treatment for the movie based on the 1941 cinematic classic. Previously, it was reported that this new take will be set in present-day, with comparisons made to Jake Gyllenhaal’s Nightcrawler. Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo (Orange is the New Black) are set to pen the screenplay.

The project is said to be on the fast track now that the team is in place. Whannell, it’s said, was offered the movie previously but turned it down. When asked to reconsider, his tone changed. Blumhouse head Jason Blum, taking to Twitter, had two simple words about the project.

“Buckle up.”

For Leigh Whannell, this represents another huge Universal Monsters project that cements him as an in-demand talent. Whannell, one of the co-creators of the Saw franchise, most recently directed The Invisible Man. The revamp of the classic horror property proved to be a massive hit both critically and commercially, bringing in $124 million at the box office against a $7 million budget. Whannell has a first-look deal set up at Blumhouse that covers movie and TV projects. Whannell was also recently tapped to helm an Upgrade TV series based on his movie of the same name.

Universal has been looking to reboot its stable of classic monster franchises for some time. Originally, that involved a big-budget cinematic universe, dubbed the Dark Universe. It kicked off, and ended, with Tom Cruise’s The Mummy, which was a critical and commercial disappointment. Given the success of The Invisible Man, the studio is taking a creator-driven approach.

Ryan Gosling most recently starred in First Man as famed astronaut Neil Armstrong. Some of his other recent credits include The Nice Guys, La La Land and Blade Runner 2049. There is no word currently on who else may be eyed to star alongside Gosling. It also isn’t clear how soon production could begin. Studios are still largely trying to figure out how to resume productions safely. But it seems Universal intends to waste no time in getting this off the ground.

The Wolf Man was originally released in 1941 and was directed by George Waggner, with Lon Chaney Jr. and Bela Lugosi starring. A remake, The Wolfman, was produced in 2010, with Benicio del Toro in the lead role. I ultimately ended up being a flop. We’ll be sure to keep you posted as any further details on the project are made available. This news comes to us via Deadline.

Buckle Up https://t.co/krrxfqpb8k

— Jason Blum (@jason_blum) July 8, 2020

Topics: The Wolf Man