Leigh Whannell will continue to help Universal Studios resurrect its monster movie properties by bringing Wolfman to the big screen.
Whannell, who has officially signed on to direct Wolfman, is reportedly lobbying to cast Ryan Gosling in the lead role in a movie that will be produced by Blumhouse Productions. Whannell will be also be providing the treatment for the movie, which has been fast-tracked to production off the success of The Invisible Man. This treatment will be based on an original idea he has for the property while concurrently being influenced and inspired by 1941 original, The Wolf Man, which starred Lon Chaney Jr. in the titular role.
The director, who has a first-look deal at film and television projects with Blumhouse, initially declined the offer to work on the popular horror movie property. It was at the behest of Lauren Schuker Blum – who will be co-writing the script with Rebecca Angelo – that Whannel reconsidered and eventually agreed.
Whannell’s The Invisible Man, starring Elisabeth Moss, was well-received upon release earlier this year. Having been made for a $7 million budget, the movie would ultimately gross $124 million worldwide. It was produced as a standalone movie, although Universal Studios’ original plans were to incorporate into their planned Dark Universe series of films. After the expensive misfire of Tom Cruise’s The Mummy, however, those plans were put on hold.
At the time of writing, it is not known whether Wolfman will tie into The Invisible Man or Universal Studios’ Dark Universe plans, but given the success of Whannell’s previous work, it could likely once again be a standalone piece.
Wolfman is currently in pre-production.
Source: Deadline
