Universal may not have to find a new director for The Wolf Man before the full moon blooms, but the producers involved probably feel like they do. The movie was slated to start filming in just a few weeks, then director Mark Romanek left the project, as we reported yesterday.
If rumors are to be believed, the studio isn’t wasting any time in finding a replacement, and they aren’t straying too far from the genre either. According to AICN, the studio already has two possible plug-ins for Romanek.
The first contender is Breck Eisner, the director behind the failed adaptation of the Clive Cussler novel Sahara. Eisner actually would be a pretty good pick, since he seems interested in the era of the original Wolf Man picture, trying to get his own adaptation of Creature from the Black Lagoon off the ground over the past few years.
The second possibility is a name you’re starting to hear a lot about: Matt Reeves, the director behind Cloverfield. Of course, the rumor that a Cloverfield sequel could be in the works might tie Reeves up past being able to work on a Wolf Man picture.
I hope Universal is able to find a suitable replacement, because The Wolf Man has the potential to be a great picture. Creative differences aside, I think Romanek is making a huge mistake walking away from this movie and I hope it comes to light that there’s a lot more involved than budget arguments causing this rift.
