Where the Dark Universe failed before it even started—you know, the big shared universe with Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, Russell Crowe, Angelina Jolie, etc.—Blumhouse has shown they have the Midas Touch with horror. Look at what they did, for example, with Leigh Whannell’s terrific and inventive traumatic gaslighting horror, “The Invisible Man,” starring Elisabeth Moss. Whannell is back with Blumhouse for another adaptation of a Universal Horror classic, this time, “Wolf Man,” and it’s building up quite the cast.
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Today, Emmy-winner Julia Garner was announced as one of the leads, co-starring next to Christopher Abbott (“Girls,” “Sanctuary”). According to Blumhouse, Garner will play a mother whose family is being terrorized by a lethal predator. Abbott is playing the father and, presumably, also the Wolf Man himself.
The casting is something of a reunion as Garner co-starred alongside Abbott in the 2011 drama “Martha, Marcy, May, Marlene,” which was her first professional acting job. Garner is known for several indie dramas but became a major breakout star on the Netflix series, “Ozark” where she won three Emmys for her acclaimed supporting role.
The lifespan of “Wolf Man” is interesting because Whannell was the original writer/director of the project based on his ‘Invisible Man’ work (circa 2020). He eventually had to bail on the project because of scheduling issues with another film, and then Ryan Gosling and his filmmaking buddy Derek Cianfrance took over the project.
They both eventually dropped out (though Gosling remains an executive producer), and Whannell circled back to the project late last year with Abbott in tow.
“Wolf Man” is moving fast, casting now, shooting soon, and already has a release date of October 25, 2024, which seems almost rushed. However, Blumhouse already has a reputation for down-and-dirty, inexpensive, but not cheaply made horror films that are produced and made fast but never suffer in quality. While Whannell is at the helm again, we truly hope he can reproduce what he did with “The Invisible Man” and bring a similarly striking emotional quality to “Wolf Man.” Here’s to hoping.
