Universal’s classic monsters have always been the white whale of classic movie IP, and it wasn’t until Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man that it felt like these gimmicky at best and hokey at worst monsters could actually be villains in the 21st century. Now, Whannell is back with another take on a classic cinema creature: the Wolf Man.
All the way back in 2020, Whannell was attached to a new movie that would give the Wolf Man the Invisible Man treatment. But in the years since its original pitch, which then followed an anchorman that is infected, the movie has changed quite a bit. Check out our first look at the final product below.
Wolf Man (two words) was initially supposed to star Ryan Gosling, but in December 2023, Christopher Abbott was announced as his replacement, though Gosling remains on as executive producer.
Abbott plays Blake, a San Francisco husband and father, who inherits his remote childhood home and brings his wife Charlotte (Julia Garner) and his daughter Ginger (Matilda 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,” the synopsis reads. “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.”
This trailer comes hot on the heels of a tie-in promotion with Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights, but keeps its own monster reveal close to the chest. This is only the first teaser, so it’s likely we’ll see more of its terrifying monster as we get closer to release.
