Wolf Man director Leigh Whannell explains how his upcoming film is related to his previous work, The Invisible Man (2020). Starring Christopher Abbott as Blake, Whannell’s Wolf Man reboot follows a father and his family during a full moon as they are stalked by a werewolf, with Blake soon beginning to exhibit signs of becoming a beast himself. Whannell is no stranger to rebooting Universal monster movies, as, after making the sci-fi thriller Upgrade (2018), he released The Invisible Man, which earned positive reviews for its inventive new take on the classic tale.

In a recent interview with Empire, Whannel explains how Wolf Man is related to The Invisible Man. According to the director, he took a similar approach with Wolf Man as he did with his previous Universal monster movie in the sense that he’s not attempting to make a throwback film, and is instead attempting to do something radically different with a classic character. He also teases that, while The Invisible Man may have been horror-adjacent, his new movie leans fully into the genre. Check out Whannell’s comments and a new image of Abbott in the film below:

“I was watching a lot of domestic thrillers when I wrote The Invisible Man, because I love that genre. [Wolf Man] is me saying, ‘I just wanted to make something that is straight-up, pure horror.’”
“I think of it as a companion piece to The Invisible Man. I didn’t want this film to be a nostalgic or a retro Wolf Man film in any way. [I was] actually writing down in my notepad everything that’s been done, and then saying, ‘Okay, that’s the list of what not to do. I’m hoping that you go in and say, ‘Oh wow, I haven’t seen that werewolf movie before,’ when the lights come up.”

What Leigh Whannell’s Update Means For Wolf Man
How Was The Invisible Man Received?

Prior to the release of The Invisible Man, there was a degree of uncertainty regarding whether this reboot would be able to deliver. The Mummy (2017), after all, which was intended to launch a new “Dark Universe,” was a disappointment critically and commercially. The Invisible Man, however, like Upgrade before it, was a hit with audiences and critics. The film currently enjoys a strong 92% on Rotten Tomatoes and grossed $144 million worldwide on an estimated budget of only $7 million.

If Whannell is taking the same approach with Wolf Man, his track record thus far is certainly reason to be optimistic. As he also showed with Upgrade, which was made on an estimated budget of only $3 million, he can do a lot with a little, and Wolf Man sounds from the premise alone to be a relatively contained film about one family.

Prior to Wolf Man, the previous take on the Universal character was released in 2010 with The Wolfman, a film that failed both critically and commercially. Instead of hearkening back to previous incarnations of the titular beast, which most younger audiences won’t be familiar with anyway, Whannell’s decision to push the franchise forward into new territory could help the film strike a chord with viewers.

Our Take On Whannell’s Wolf Man Tease
Why The Film Is One To Look Forward To

The first trailer for Wolf Man was careful not to reveal too much, and Whannell’s latest tease is certainly one that makes the film all the more exciting. Both Upgrade and The Invisible Man flirted with horror, the latter especially, but Whannell has a rich history in the genre, having helped birth the Saw franchise alongside James Wan.

Whannel’s filmography, combined with the impressive Wolf Man cast, which includes Emmy and Golden Globe winner Julia Garner, makes the film an anticipated 2025 release. If Wolf Man succeeds, it could also prove that there’s more life left in these classic Universal monsters than 2017’s The Mummy would suggest.

Source: Empire