Following the collapse of the Dark Universe, i.e. the shared continuity that would have had the Universal Monsters mingling in the same continuity launched by 2017’s The Mummy, the film studio has reverted to a standalone approach with adapting these classic characters. This included Blumhouse handling 2020’s The Invisible Man, which CinemaBlend stamped with 4.5 out of 5 stars, and the production company has also been set to put its stamp on the Wolfman for years now. Well, that movie is finally moving forward, but rather than starring Ryan Gosling as was originally planned, a new actor has been brought in to play the lead.
Christopher Abbott, who’s most recently been seen starring opposite Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo in the 2023 movie release Poor Things, will star in the officially-titled Wolf Man, which will be directed by Leigh Whannell, the same filmmaker behind The Invisible Man. Abbott’s other major credits include Girls, Catch-22, The Crowded Room, First Man and The Forgiven, and Wolf Man is now one of two movies on the 2024 release schedule he’ll star in, as he’s also playing The Foreigner in Kraven the Hunter.
It is important to note, though, that Abbott will not be playing Wolf Man’s title character. Rather, Blumhouse revealed that the actor is instead playing “a man whose family is being terrorized by a lethal predator.” Abbott is the only actor who was mentioned in Blumhouse’s official announcement about Wolf Man, but behind the scenes, along with directing, Whannell penned the script with Corbett Tuck, and Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo are also listed as writers. Gosling will also remain involved on the project as an executive producer alongside Whannell, Ken Kao, Bea Sequeira and Mel Turner.
Even with just that one sentence synopsis, we know that Christopher Abbott’s Wolf Man movie will be a lot different than what Ryan Gosling had been set to star in. Back when the Barbie actor was positioned as the lead, he was reportedly going to play an anchorman who transformed into this feral creature. Now that Wolf Man is going in a different creative direction, it’s unclear who will play will the monster terrorizing this patriarch and his family.
This is just one of many upcoming horror movies Blumhouse has lined up, though that’s not surprising considering how well the company has done for itself within the genre. It was also recently announced that The Black Phone 2 is moving forward with Ethan Hawke and other actors from the first movie, and early 2025 will bring M3GAN 2.0, with its predecessor knocking it out of the park critically and commercially at the start of 2023.
Wolf Man opens in theaters on October 25, 2024, the same day that fellow horror feature Terrifier 3 arrives. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for updates on its progress, and remember that The Invisible Man can be streamed with a Peacock subscription.
