Universal and Blumhouse's Wolfman movie (now known as Wolf Man) went through a hairy (sorry) phase of production late last year, but cameras officially started rolling back in March, and we now have our first official look at an early promo poster for the film.
The banner was spotted on display at Universal Orlando as part of the park's Halloween Horror Nights takeover. The image gives us a first look at the movie's logo and what will presumably be the primary location of the story, but no sign of the titular lycanthrope, unfortunately.
Original star Ryan Gosling parted ways with the project back in December, with Christopher Abbott (Girls, Poor Things) taking over as the lead. Not only that, but Invisible Man helmer Leigh Whannell - who was originally attached to direct - is now back on board after his replacement, Place Beyond the Pines and Blue Valentine director Derek Cianfrance, followed Gosling out the door.
No reason was given for the shake-ups, but with hardly any movement on the project for such a long time, we had assumed that scheduling became an issue. However, a follow-up report indicated that Gosling may have wanted more creative input in the direction of the story/character than the studio was comfortable with.
Wolf Man was recently given an official release date, and is set to howl into theaters just in time for Halloween on October 25, 2024.
Ozark's Julia Garner will play the female lead.
It sounds like this version of the film is still working off the script by Whannell, Corbett Tuck, Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo, but there have been some story changes.
The original premise was said to be a modern-day retelling of the classic tale, and was described as being "in the vein of Jake Gyllenhaal’s thriller Nightcrawler, with an obvious supernatural twist." Gosling would have played an anchorman who is bitten by a werewolf and embarks in some carnivorous lunar activities of his own.
Now, the plot will focus on "a man whose family is being terrorized by a lethal predator."
The "Dark Universe" may be no more, but Universal is still hoping to follow up the success of The Invisible Man with an entire series of films based on the classic monsters. Along with Wolf Man, the likes of Elizabeth Banks' The Invisible Woman, Karyn Kusama's Dracula, and Paul Feig's Dark Army are also said to be in development.