Here’s a casting choice out of thin air – Elisabeth Moss of The Handmaid’s Tale is being eyed to star in Universal’s reboot of The Invisible Man, following Johnny Depp's former attachment as the now-you-see-him, now-you-don’t classic character.
Wait, are we looking at an Invisible Woman movie? No plot details have been given as of yet, and the casting negotiations are in early stages, per Variety. The project helmed by Upgrade writer/director Leigh Whannell and produced under Blumhouse is a leftover idea from Universal’s scrapped "Dark Universe" that will now be a standalone film.
In 2017, the studio released The Mummy starring Sofia Boutella, Tom Cruise, and Russell Crowe in hopes of kicking off its own interconnected universe of films about the studio’s famous movie monsters. The Mummy was not successfully revitalized, as the $125 million budget film was met with $80 million domestic gross and negative reviews -- though it did clean up overseas with $329 million.
So “Dark Universe†was tabled – but not all of their pitched monster movies will be collecting cobwebs. This The Invisible Man project will be Universal’s next try at resurrecting their classic characters for the big screen, but without a planned interconnected universe.
In an earlier version of the project, Johnny Depp was set to star as the titular character. Ed Solomon -- who has also penned the Now You See Me movies, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Men in Black -- was to write the screenplay. While Mummy flopped and the “Dark Universe†original plans were shifted, The Invisible Man seems to be getting off the ground.
Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions recently told CinemaBlend’s own Eric Eisenberg about his excitement for the project. In Blum’s words:
It came about very organically because Leigh had a spectacular idea. And so when he had this idea we talked to the studio about it, and I would say the idea kind of fits squarely into the tenants of Blumhouse. It's really character-based, it's story-based. It doesn't rely a ton on stunts and visual effects, and I love it. We're going to shoot it this year, and I can't wait for people to see it.
With The Invisible Man movie set to start filming soon, news of Elisabeth Moss’ potential casting makes sense. While her role is unclear -- she could either be the invisible character or play opposite them -- the actress is an impressive and intriguing choice.
Elisabeth Moss is best known for her television roles in Mad Men and The Handmaid’s Tale, though the 36-year-old actress also has over 80 other acting credits, including an upcoming role in Jordan Peele’s horror film Us coming March 22 and as a punk rocker in Her Smell on April 12.
