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Wolf Man (2025 film)

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Wolf Man
Teaser poster
Directed byLeigh Whannell
Screenplay by
  • Lauren Schuker Blum
  • Rebecca Angelo
  • Leigh Whannell
  • Corbett Tuck
Story by
  • Leigh Whannell
  • Corbett Tuck
Based onThe Wolf Man
1941 film
by Curt Siodmak
Produced byJason Blum
Starring
CinematographyStefan Duscio
Edited byAndy Canny
Production
companies
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • January 17, 2025 (2025-01-17)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Wolf Man is an upcoming American supernatural horror film directed by Leigh Whannell. A reboot of The Wolf Man (1941), it stars Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner. Jason Blum serves as a producer through his Blumhouse Productions banner, alongside Motel Movies.

The film was announced in 2014 and was to be part of a shared cinematic universe centered on the Universal Monsters; Aaron Guzikowski and David Callaham were attached to pen the script. After the failure of The Mummy (2017), Universal shifted its focus to standalone films. The success of Whannell's The Invisible Man (2020) rekindled Universal's interest in the Monsters franchise. They accepted a pitch by Ryan Gosling for a new Wolf Man film with Derek Cianfrance to direct. However, Gosling and Cianfrance left the project in 2023, and Whannell took over as director. Filming took place in New Zealand in early 2024.

The film is set to be released by Universal Pictures on January 17, 2025.

Premise

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The film follows Blake (Christopher Abbott), a San Francisco husband and father, who inherits his remote childhood home in rural Oregon after his own father vanishes and is presumed dead. With his marriage to his high-powered wife, Charlotte (Julia Garner), fraying, Blake persuades Charlotte to take a break from the city and visit the property with their young daughter, Ginger (Matlida Firth). But as the family approaches the farmhouse in the dead of night, they’re attacked by an unseen animal and, in a desperate escape, barricade themselves inside the home as the creature prowls the perimeter. As the night stretches on, however, Blake begins to behave strangely, transforming into something unrecognizable, and Charlotte will be forced to decide whether the terror within their house is more lethal than the danger without.[1]

— Universal Pictures

Cast

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Production

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Development

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In July 2014, Universal Pictures announced its plan for a shared cinematic franchise, later dubbed Dark Universe, centered on their Universal Monsters library — which was to include The Wolf Man.[2][3] In November 2014, Aaron Guzikowski was confirmed to be writing the reboot of Universal's The Wolf Man.[4][5] In June 2016, Deadline Hollywood reported on rumors that Dwayne Johnson was considered for the titular role.[6] By October, David Callaham was hired to rewrite the script.[7] In 2017, The Mummy was released as the first film in the Dark Universe; its launch was both a critical and commercial failure and resulted in Universal deciding to shift its focus on individual storytelling and move away from the shared universe concept with the cancelation of The Wolf Man and other films in development.[8]

Reporter Justin Kroll said the critical and commercial success of Leigh Whannell's The Invisible Man for Universal "scrap[ped] the universe concept" and loosened restrictions for the talent in front and behind the camera, allowing them to decide how they wanted to execute their films in terms of budget and MPAA rating and invite "big name talent" to pitch their ideas.[9] By early 2020, Universal had been hearing project ideas for a year and a half from filmmakers seeking to develop other characters in the franchise. These meetings included Ryan Gosling's pitch to remake The Wolf Man and star in it, with Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo writing a screenplay described as tonally similar to Nightcrawler (2014). Several filmmakers were considered to direct, including Cory Finley, whose film Thoroughbreds (2017) was reportedly well liked by Universal,[9] and Whannell, who was advised by The Invisible Man producer Jason Blum to reconsider after initially declining.[10] (In February 2020, Whanell had mentioned his interest in making a werewolf film during a press interview for The Invisible Man.)[11] In July, Whannell entered negotiations to write a film treatment and direct.[10] After Whannell left the project due to scheduling conflicts, Derek Cianfrance entered negotiations to write and direct in October 2021, having previously directed Gosling in Blue Valentine (2010) and The Place Beyond the Pines (2012).[12]

Filming

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In December 2023, Cianfrance and Gosling were reported to have exited the project, with Whannell taking over the directing duties, along with the screenplay alongside Corbett Tuck, Schuker Blum, and Angelo. Gosling, who retained an executive producer credit, was replaced by Christopher Abbott in the lead role.[13] In 2024, Julia Garner,[14] Sam Jaeger,[15] and Matilda Firth[16] joined the cast. Ben Prendergast and Benedict Hardie have supporting roles in the film.[1] Principal photography began on March 17, 2024, in Mangaroa, Upper Hutt, New Zealand, with Stefan Duscio as cinematographer.[17]

Marketing

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In August 2024, during Universal's Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando, a booth revealed the film's logo and teaser image, and on September 4, an actor took the stage for a photo-op performing as the film's werewolf. The werewolf design—a creature with a "balding head", "long white hair on the back of his head and as facial hair", "long, bony fingers", and "sharp teeth"—drew divisive reactions from online users and journalists.[a] On September 6, Universal released a teaser trailer, poster, and synopsis.[23] Hannah Shaw-Williams of /Film suggested that the timing of the teaser's release was "damage control" over the poorly-received werewolf design, noting the absence of the titular creature in the teaser.[24]

Release

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Wolf Man is scheduled to be released in the United States on January 17, 2025.[25] It was previously scheduled to be released on October 25, 2024.[13]

Notes

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  1. ^ Attributed to multiple sources.[18][19][20][21][22]

References

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  1. ^ a b Powster. "Wolf Man (2025) | Cast & Synopsis | January 17". Wolf Man (2025) Movie Site. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  2. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (July 16, 2014). "Universal Taps Alex Kurtzman, Chris Morgan To Relaunch Classic Movie Monster Franchises". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  3. ^ Walkuski, Eric (May 22, 2017). "Universal reveals Dark Universe logo with Danny Elfman theme music". JoBlo.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2024. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  4. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (November 12, 2014). "Will Justin Lin Rev Fast & Furious Finale?". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  5. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (November 12, 2014). "Sony Confirms Dark Matter; Universal Confirms Aaron Guzikowski To Write Wolfman". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 26, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  6. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (June 22, 2016). "Dwayne Johnson Sets Jay Longino Graphic Novel Son Of Shaolin At Sony". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  7. ^ Ford, Rebecca (October 13, 2016). "Universal Taps The Expendables Writer to Pen The Wolf Man (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  8. ^ Kit, Borys; Couch, Aaron (November 8, 2017). "Universal's Monsterverse in Peril as Top Producers Exit (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  9. ^ a b Kroll, Justin (May 29, 2020). "Ryan Gosling's Wolfman Gears Up at Universal as Director Decision Nears (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on October 26, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  10. ^ a b Fleming, Mike Jr. (July 8, 2021). "Ryan Gosling's Wolfman Howling At Universal As Director Leigh Whannell & Blumhouse Join The Pack". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 26, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  11. ^ O'Connor, Anthony (February 22, 2020). "Leigh Whannell: The Invisible Man interview". FilmInk. Retrieved July 20, 2024. Event occurs at 8:05.
  12. ^ Kroll, Justin (October 26, 2021). "Ryan Gosling And Universal's Wolfman Sets Derek Cianfrance As Director". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 26, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  13. ^ a b Kit, Borys (December 13, 2023). "Christopher Abbott Replacing Ryan Gosling to Star in Wolf Man for Blumhouse, Universal (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 13, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  14. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (January 5, 2024). "Julia Garner To Star In Blumhouse & Universal's Wolf Man". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  15. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 27, 2024). "Blumhouse's Wolf Man Adds The Handmaid's Tale's Sam Jaeger". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  16. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 18, 2024). "Blumhouse & Universal's Wolf Man Adds Matilda Firth". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  17. ^ Jason Blum [@jason_blum] (March 17, 2024). "Day one on the set of Wolf Man. Director Leigh Whannell pictured here. LFG!!! 📸: Nicola Dove/Universal Pictures and @blumhouse" (Tweet). Archived from the original on March 18, 2024. Retrieved March 18, 2024 – via Twitter.
  18. ^ Hood, Cooper (September 7, 2024). "What Christopher Abbott's Wolf Man Looks Like". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on September 7, 2024. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  19. ^ Dick, Jeremy (August 27, 2024). "Wolf Man Promo Poster Reveals Official Logo and First Look at Blumhouse Reboot". CBR. Archived from the original on September 7, 2024. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  20. ^ Zwiezen, Zack (September 5, 2024). "Here's Our First Look At The New Wolf Man And Uh...Oh..." Kotaku. Archived from the original on September 7, 2024. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  21. ^ Fink, Richard (September 5, 2024). "First Look at Universal's Wolf Man Reboot Teases Divisive New Look". MSN. Archived from the original on September 7, 2024. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  22. ^ Mathai, Jeremy (September 5, 2024). "Halloween Horror Nights Has Revealed Universal's New Wolf Man, And Fans Are Not Over The Moon". /Film. Archived from the original on September 7, 2024. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  23. ^ Ramos Bechara, Diego (September 6, 2024). "'Wolf Man' Trailer: Christopher Abbott Transforms in Bloody Horror Remake". Variety. Archived from the original on September 7, 2024. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  24. ^ Shaw-Williams, Hannah (September 6, 2024). "Universal Hides Its Controversial Monster In Leigh Whannell's Creepy Wolf Man Trailer". /Film. Archived from the original on September 7, 2024. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  25. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 29, 2024). "Blumhouse's Wolf Man Runs From Fall To MLK Weekend 2025; The Woman In The Yard Unset For Now". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
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