The well known horror film studio Blumhouse Productions has officially begun production of their latest reimagining of the Universal Monsters universe with The Wolf Man. Director Leigh Whannell, who directed the 2020 reboot of The Invisible Man, is now sinking his teeth into the world of the iconic lycanthrope creature. He shared via his social media that principal photography has begun.

Day one on the set of Wolf Man. Director Leigh Whannell pictured here. LFG!!!

📸: Nicola Dove/Universal Pictures and @blumhouse pic.twitter.com/qeny3bjYdl

— Jason Blum (@jason_blum) March 18, 2024

The film is set to star Christopher Abbott as the titular character with Julian Garner set to portray his potential love interest. Not much is currently known about the story aside from it taking elements from the original. There is also no knowledge if it is in any way connected to The Invisible Man.

IMDb does list a synopsis that reads,

“A man must protect himself and his family when they are being stalked, terrorized, and haunted by a deadly werewolf at night during a full moon.”

The original 1941 film starred Lon Chaney Jr., who would go on to become one of the top characters in the original Universal Monster Cinematic Universe with crossovers featuring Frankenstein’s Monster, Dracula, and even Abbott & Costello. While not Universal’s first werewolf film, with Werewolf of London released in 1935, it quickly became the favorite and overshadowed its predecessor. 

Universal would revisit the character in 2004’s Van Helsing, which also featured multiple monsters. But there wouldn’t be another standalone film until 2010 with The Wolfman starring Benicio del Toro. The film took a much darker approach to the character with added gore, scenes of torture, and an added storyline regarding the origins of his condition. But the film was a box office failure and killed any potential sequel.

The current film has been in development for some time, as it was originally tied into the now-defunct Dark Universe. Originally meant to begin with Dracula Untold in 2014, things kicked off in 2017 with The Mummy, but after performing below expectations all future plans for the Dark Universe were seemingly scrapped. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was rumored to be in talks to play The Wolf Man.

Now, under Blumhouse, these monsters seem to be having a new opportunity to both scare and entice audiences. But only time will tell if Universal will revive the shared universe concept.

Are you excited to see the reboot? How will it compare to the original? Will it surpass Marvel’s Werewolf By Night? Let us know your thoughts.

Source: CBR