‘Wolfman’: Leigh Whannell & Christopher Abbott Replace Derek Cianfrance & Ryan Gosling In The Blumhouse Remake

We’ve been talking about a Blumhouse remake of “Wolfman” for years now. Way back in 2020, after the massive success of Leigh Whannell’s “Invisible Man,” he was quickly snatched up by Blumhouse to take another Universal Monster and reimagine it. Eventually, Ryan Gosling was brought in to star and things were progressing. Then Whannell dropped out and Gosling’s friend, Derek Cianfrance, was hired to direct. But now, it appears everything has been flipped on its head, yet again.

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According to THR, both Derek Cianfrance and Ryan Gosling have departed the upcoming remake of “Wolfman.” But believe it or not, that doesn’t mean the film is in trouble. Instead, things are moving faster than ever, as Leigh Whannell has been hired back to direct and Christopher Abbott is the new leading man. Not only that, but the film is scheduled for release next Halloween. Now, let’s take a breath for a second and try to parse all of this out.

No reason was given for why Cianfrance and Gosling were departing. Speculation could take you in a number of places, but let’s be real—when it was announced that Cianfrance was going to direct, it seemed like an odd choice. He’s an auteur who hasn’t really made the leap into something like genre filmmaking, let alone horror. Sure, he’s worked with Gosling before (in the great films “Blue Valentine” and “The Place Beyond the Pines”), and we’d all like to see what Cianfrance would do with the project, but both of those guys attached just didn’t feel like a Blumhouse joint, you know?

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That isn’t to say the new iteration of “Wolfman” is going to be bad. Let’s make this abundantly clear—Whannell and Abbott are great. The latter is one of the best actors working today, and someone who has yet to really be given the chance to take the lead in a big project. So, it’ll be great to see him get the spotlight in a film that is sure to raise his star power. And Whannell has been awfully impressive with his most recent films, “Upgrade” and the aforementioned “Invisible man.” He’s a filmmaker who clearly has a knack for horror and genre filmmaking, so we have nothing but optimism surrounding this project yet again. 

Will the Whannell version be anything like what Cianfrance was cooking up? Who knows? Regardless, the film is getting made (and soon), and the people onboard now are perfectly capable of delivering a wonderful film. Sign us up. “Wolfman” is now set to arrive in theaters on October 25, 2024.