Universal Pictures is hard at work trying to find the next great universe….again. We’ve has enough of those superheroes and little yellow dudes, now is the time to bring back the best genre for a full revamp: horror.
Saw co-writer Leigh Whannell is set to direct Wolf Man, a new movie based on the classic Universal flick from 1941. The studio is seemingly looking to reboot all of those monsters that gave you nightmares as a kid, and eventually you can even visit those worlds in real life.
Wolf Man is currently in production with modern horror icon Jason Blum on board, so you can ensure there will be a few genuine scares. Here is everything we know so far about the upcoming movie.
Plot
Producer Ken Kao confirmed to Screen Rant that the movie could tie in with Universal’s plans for more monster movies, but each story has to be told individually before that happens. The studio does not want a redo of 2017’s The Mummy. “I would say that the Mummy’s Dark Universe, in my humble opinion, felt like it was reactive to what was going on with all the superhero stuff — the MCU and DC universe,” he explained of the Tom Cruise action flick which bombed at the box office. “And we know there’s been a lot of talk about what happened with all that [in] the last year or so. I guess you could call it maybe more like the Joker approach. In my opinion, especially if you’re going to do it for contained pieces, like Blumhouse is really good at doing, [it] makes a lot more sense to me. So that’s a good playbook.”
Not much is known about the story, but we can assume the general plot based on the original film. The original Wolf Man follows a man who is attacked and bitten by a mysterious wolf in an attempt to rescue a woman, but then he started turning into a wolf himself when the full moon is out. It’s your classic wolf man story that paved the way for Twilight: New Moon.
As for the remake, it seems like they will modernize the story a bit, and perhaps offer a little bit more violence. It’s 2024! Everything is gore now. According to the logline: “A man must protect himself and his family when they are being stalked, terrorized, and haunted by a deadly werewolf at night during a full moon.”
Cast
At one point, Ryan Gosling was on board to play the Wolf Man, but he stepped down and was replaced by Poor Things actor Christopher Abbott in December 2023. Abbott will portray the Wolf Man/ Larry Talbot, a man who gets infected and turns into the beast. Julia Garner, Sam Jaeger, and Matilda Firth also star.
Release Date
The movie was previously slated for a Halloween 2024 release, but was recently pushed to a January 17, 2025 release date.
Trailer
There is no footage from the movie yet, though filming took place in March in New Zealand, so a trailer will likely debut later this year.