Is the new Wolf Man connected to Leigh Whannell's The Invisible Man?

The Wolf Man is one of Universal's most indelible monsters. The character has been around since 1941, and though there have been countless attempts to recapture the magic of the original, most sequels and reboots have fallen flat.

This is not a phenomenon specific to The Wolf Man. Hollywood has struggled mightily when it comes to turning classic movie monsters into compelling modern films. Fortunately, Leigh Whannell seems to have cracked the code.

Wolf Man is slated for release on January 17

The director hit a home run with his paranoid remake of The Invisible Man (2020), and now he's going back to the well to do the same with The Wolf Man. The trailer for the latest remake has dropped, and to nobody's surprise, it looks excellent. But is it connected to The Invisible Man? Is it set in the same universe?

Like The Invisible Man, the Wolf Man focuses on the horror generated by anticipation. We never get a full glimpse of the titular creature, played by Christopher Abbott, but rather the pain and anxiety that he experiences before he transforms.

The film makes the titular character a family man, to further ramp up the stakes. The tail end of the trailer sees the character's daughter voice concern over his well-being, and it's safe to assume there will be lots of instances throughout the Wolf Man in which this little girl is in danger.

The film will NOT tie in with The Invisible Man

Despite having a similar tone, the same director, and the same production company (Blumhouse), the Wolf Man and The Invisible Man are not connected. They are not set in the same universe, and Leigh Whannell actually clarified that they will be standalone stories.

Ken Kao, a producer on Wolf Man, confirmed Whannell's intentions during a recent interview with Screen Rant. He likened the Blumhouse remakes to Joker (2019), in that it takes an established brand and allows it to exist on its own terms, without worrying about how it fits into the rest of the franchise.

"I guess you could call it maybe more like the Joker approach," Kao noted. It makes a lot more sense to me. So that's a good playbook." Based on how good the Wolf Man trailer looks, we're inclined to agree.