The Wolf Manis 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 Manis slated for release on January 17
The director hit a home run with his paranoid remake ofThe Invisible Man(2020), and now he's going back to the well to do the same withThe Wolf Man. The trailer for the latest remake has dropped, and to nobody's surprise, it looks excellent. But is it connected toThe Invisible Man? Is it set in the same universe?
LikeThe Invisible Man, theWolf Manfocuses 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 theWolf Manin which this little girl is in danger.
The film will NOT tie in withThe Invisible Man
Despite having a similar tone, the same director, and the same production company (Blumhouse), theWolf ManandThe Invisible Manare 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 onWolf Man, confirmed Whannell's intentions during arecent interview withScreen Rant. He likened the Blumhouse remakes toJoker(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 theWolf Mantrailer looks, we're inclined to agree.
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