Following the success of the 2020 surprise hit The Invisible Man, Universal Pictures is looking to revisit its classic catalog of Monsters once again. Variety reports that the studio will move forward with a new version of The Wolf Man, with Ryan Gosling attached to star at the title character.
Sources close to Variety tell the trade that Universal executives have been meeting with various directors over the past month and are nearing their final decision soon. Cory Finley, who directed HBO’s drama Bad Education with Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney, is said to be in contention for the director’s chair.
Variety also notes that Gosling was going to direct Wolfman, in addition to starring, but after more thought, they decided it would be best for him to focus on the acting. Nothing is said about the film’s new take, but there are some rumblings it will feature a contemporary setting and see some inspiration from Jake Gyllenhaal’s dark crime thriller Nightcrawler.
Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo, who wrote for Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black, has penned the script for Wolfman, which is based on an original pitch by Gosling.
As well as Wolfman, Universal has a number of other Classic Monsters projects in development, including Dark Army from Paul Feig (Ghostbusters), Renfield from Dexter Fletcher (Rocketman), The Invisible Woman from Elizabeth Banks (Charlie’s Angels), Dracula from Karyn Kusama (Jennifer’s Body), and an as-yet-untitled film from James Wan (The Conjuring).
