The reboot of the classic Universal Monsters property The Wolf Man from Blumhouse Productions and The Invisible Man (2020) director Leigh Whannell reached theatres last month – and JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray wasn’t very impressed with it, giving it a 6/10 review that you can read HERE and describing it as “well-acted, but not very scary.” Clearly, he wasn’t the only one who was unimpressed. While The Invisible Man made over $139 million at the global box office, Wolf Man has been crawling toward the $30 million mark. Now, it has been revealed that Wolf Man is set to receive a digital release tomorrow, February 4th, with a physical media release to follow on March 18th.
The leads of this version of Wolf Man are Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, both of whom were in the 2011 film Martha Marcy May Marlene. Abbott is taking on the role of a man whose family is being terrorized by a lethal predator. Garner is playing his wife. Sam Jaeger is also in the cast, along with child actress Matilda Firth, playing a character named Ginger: “Female, 10 years old, white. Blake and Charlotte’s daughter. Smart, precocious, and strong. When her family decides to leave the city for a quieter life in a remote area, she faces her biggest fear, the possibility of losing one or both of her parents forever.”
When Wolf Man was first announced in 2020, Ryan Gosling was set to star in it – and in fact, it got rolling when Gosling pitched this take on the concept of The Wolf Man to Universal, and his idea was then fleshed out into a screenplay by Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo, a writing duo that previously worked on Orange Is the New Black. (Blum also happens to be married to Blumhouse founder Jason Blum.) At the time, it was said the story was “believed to be set in present times and in the vein of Jake Gyllenhaal’s thriller Nightcrawler with an obvious supernatural twist.” The final version of the script is credited to Whannell and his wife Corbett Tuck.
Whannell first signed on to direct the film in 2020, but dropped out the following year. That’s when Gosling’s Blue Valentine and Place Beyond the Pines director Derek Cianfrance came on board. Gosling and Cianfrance both stepped away from Wolf Man early last year… and then Whannell came back. A collaboration between Blumhouse and Motel Movies, Wolf Man is being produced by Jason Blum. Gosling receives an executive producer credit alongside Ken Kao, Bea Sequeira, Mel Turner, and Whannell.
Fangoria reports that Wolf Man is coming to 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD with the following special features: – UNLEASHING A NEW MONSTER: Explore Leigh Whannell’s dark and gritty take on one of horror’s most iconic monsters. Learn what inspired the visionary director to create this tragic tale of family, loss, and a night of absolute terror. – DESIGNING WOLF MAN: Director Leigh Whannell and prosthetic designer Arjen Tuiten, set out to create a Wolf Man unlike any seen before. Take a closer look at the conceptual designs, sculptures and prosthetic make-up that aided in the creation of a monster that stays with you long after the credits roll. – HANDS ON HORROR: Strap in for a breakdown of the film’s most thrilling action sequences. Cast and crew discuss how practical effects enabled them to capture raw and realistic performances of the most terrifying, heart-pounding scenes in the film. – NIGHTMARES AND SOUNDSCAPES: Transition into Blake’s perspective and witness the world through the eyes of an animal. Learn how sound design and VFX came together to highlight the enhanced hearing, vision, and complete abandonment of humanity that materialized during the transformation from Man to Wolf. – FEATURE COMMENTARY WITH DIRECTOR/CO-WRITER LEIGH WHANNELL. Copies of the 4K and Blu-ray steelbook release are available for pre-order on Amazon.
Will you be watching Wolf Man when it gets a digital release, and/or buying a copy on physical media? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
The comment section exists to allow readers to discuss the article constructively and respectfully, focused on the topic at hand.
What’s Not Allowed