On the heels of his recent reunion with Blumhouse, Leigh Whannell is once again addressing the chances ofThe Invisible Man 2happening. The 2020 adaptation of H.G. Wells' classic sci-fi novel, updated for a modern setting and following a woman as she escapes a controlling relationship, only to be tormented by her optics engineer husband and his creation of an invisibility suit, was a critical and commercial hit. The years since have seenon and off talks for anInvisible Man 2to be made, with Whannell stating in October 2024 he was happy to leave it where it is.
During a recent interview withThe Hollywood Reporterfor his and Blumhouse’s latest collaboration,Wolf Man, Whannell was asked about his thoughts on continuing his relationship with the studio forThe Invisible Man 2. The writer/director began by explaining howcrafting a satisfying ending is one of the biggest challenges of filmmaking, calling it the “holy grail of screenwriting”, and how the recent re-release of a classic crime thriller reminded him of this:
An ending is the hardest thing to do in screenwriting. It’s the holy grail of screenwriting, and I revere movies with great endings. In fact, I just went to the Chinese Theatre and saw Se7en in IMAX. I’ve seen that film so many times, but seeing it on a big screen really hammered home how great that ending is. I envy that powerful ending as a screenwriter.
He would go on to reflect on his process in creating the ending for the originalInvisible Man, and explaining howhe “can’t imagine gluing more story onto” the 2020 hit, but did acknowledge that sequels are “mostly driven by the economics of Hollywood.” He specifically noted how theSawandInsidiousfranchises have continued without him in the writer’s chair, pointing toward the former as having “become its own beast”:
With Invisible Man, you talked about the track “Denouement,” and because I love that note that the film ended on, I can’t imagine gluing more story onto that. Sequels are mostly driven by the economics of Hollywood. “We scored, we did well, and let’s do it again. Let’s get them back there.” And I’ve been a front-row viewer of that. I have also written two movies [Saw and Insidious] that have turned into long-running franchises with varying degrees of artistic success. I’m not going to pretend that every movie in the Saw franchise is … That film has become its own beast, and I sit outside of it now.
Echoing his sentiments from October 2024, Whannell would again reaffirm thathe’s very content with the original movie that he doesn’t “feel the artistic need to go forward” with anInvisible Man 2. Though he noted that Blumhouse and Universal may still move forward on one without him, he doesn’t seem himself coming back. Check out the rest of what Whannell explained below:
I was so happy with Invisible Man’s ending that I just don’t feel the artistic need to go forward with it. The financial need is something different. The studio might look at that and say, “Well, we feel like it should keep going because we want to make more money.” But on an artistic level, I’m like, “That’s a nice closed door there. Let’s just leave it closed.”
What This Means For Invisible Man 2
It Wouldn’t Be The First Sequel To Move On From Whannell
Though Whannell’s comments may fall in line with his previous response to the chances of a sequel,they actually prove the opposite of what Elisabeth Moss said in April 2024 when asked aboutThe Invisible Man 2. The star not only indicated that the creative team of the original were “closer than ever” to figuring out how to make the follow-up happen, but even specifically stated “my production company” was involved, pointing towards her dedication for it. She did, however, also noteWhannell’s involvement with theWolf Manrebootat the time as a potential conflict for his return.
Given Moss and Blumhouse seem ready to move forward withInvisible Man 2,the sequel could very well follow the same path as theSawfranchise. As he noted in the comments above, his and James Wan’s horror franchise has largely moved beyond its original creators, with the two maintaining executive producer credits on every installment, though only having direct involvement in the first three. While he does also note theInsidiousfranchise’s similar trajectory, it only recently saw Whannell not as involved as he only developed the story for and made a cameo inInsidious: The Red Doorafter writing the first four.
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Saw co-creator Leigh Whannell has gone on to become an acclaimed filmmaker - here’s Whannel’s directorial efforts ranked from weakest to strongest.
If looking at the way those sequels were received,Whannell not returning forInvisible Man 2could go in either direction for the Blumhouse follow-up. TheSawsequels infamously saw increasingly negative reviews from critics and audiences alike, while subsequentInsidiousinstallments failed to match the Fresh rating of its franchise starter on Rotten Tomatoes, but saw mixed receptions more so than negative.Saw Xis the rare exceptionto either series, with the 2023 midquel not only being the first to land a Fresh rating for the series from critics, but also the “Certified Fresh” label.
Our Take On The Invisible Man 2’s Chances
Whannell’s Original Largely Closed Things Out
As much as I loved the original movie and the way it updated its source material’s formula for a modern-day setting, I do thinkThe Invisible Man 2is probably better off not happening, particularly if Whannell doesn’t return.The originalInvisible Manendingwrapped things up quite nicely as Moss' Cecilia killed Adrian, making it look like a suicide, and set off with her own suit, free from his control. Though I would be open to seeing what a new creative team could do with this ending, it still felt close-ended enough that it probably doesn’t need a follow-up.
The Invisible Man
Cast
Inspired by H.G. Well’s novel of the same name, The Invisible Man is a modern retelling of the sci-fi horror classic. After narrowly escaping her abusive and powerful tech mogul boyfriend (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), Cecilia (Elisabeth Moss) is relieved to hear of his death. However, she soon becomes convinced that he’s watching her, and little by little, she comes to believe that he’s found a way to not only cheat death but the laws of reality, too.
