Wolf Mandirector Leigh Whannell offers a candid glimpse into the difficulties of filmmaking, addressing how setbacks led to Ryan Gosling having to step away from the Universal Monsters reimaging. TheSawco-creator is set to modernize another classic monster’s tale following his 2020 reimagining ofThe Invisible Man, with Christopher Abbott taking on the lead role. InWhannell’sWolf Man, a small family moves to rural Oregon where he inherits his childhood home, but a suddenlate-night home invasion leaves father and husband Blake (Abbott) cursed to turn into a monster.
Recently, Whannell opened up toScreen RantduringNew York Comic-Conabout the movie’s journey to the screen and the departure of one potential lead. After some reluctance, Whannell and his wife Corbett Tuck, who also co-wrote the movie,had initially developed the feature with Gosling attached, but a prolonged development lengthened by theCOVID-19 pandemic and Hollywood strike actions of 2024 left the actor unable to join the productionbefore the movie was greenlit by Universal.
Yeah, it was an interesting project. It came to me right after Invisible Man. They said, “Do you want to do Wolf Man?” And at first I was like, “I’m not sure, I just did Invisible Man.” And then I came up with an idea that I thought, “Oh, this version of the Wolf Man I would like.” And then I asked Corbett, my wife, we co-wrote it — she’s over there on her phone. I was like, “Let’s co-write something together.” It went through this long gestation period where I was working on it for a while with Ryan Gosling, and then he had to step off. And it was during COVID, so everything was crazy. And then, just as we started getting it going again, the strikes happened. I felt like there’s a constant barrage of problems. Finally, when the strikes were ending, we got the green light from Universal.
Comparing the length of production to the quick cycle ofSaw 2’s development, Whanell stated that ultimately he feltthat a prolonged production ultimately worked in the movie’s favor, as many elements required more time to figure things out before the cameras started rolling.
So, it’s been a long time coming, but some movies just seem to happen. Some movies get forced into existence. Like I remember, God, after finishing that first Saw movie, the producers were like, the Monday after it was released — it came out on Friday and then on Monday — they called and they said, “We want a movie out next October, start writing.” And that was the opposite problem. That was me going, “So when do you need the script by?” And they were like, “Three weeks from now.” I can tell you there is something nice about rolling downhill at 100 miles an hour going, “We just have to hang on.” Because all that momentum has its own excitement. With something like Wolf Man, where it seems to be taking forever, it can kill your creative spirit. But I’m glad I had time to think about it for a long time before I shot it, because when we shot it, I found that there were so many moving parts, with make-up and a child, and we’re shooting at night, and we’re in New Zealand in a forest. If I hadn’t have thought about it for so long, I might have lost my mind. I always had that to fall back on, like, “All right, I know what I’m doing here.”
What Does Whannell’s Comment Reveal About Gosling’s Final Contributions ToWolf Man?
Elements Of Gosling’s Vision May Remain In The Script
For those familiar with the development ofWolf Manand prior attempts at bringing a modern reimagining of the character, Gosling’s departure marks the end of a lengthy journey. Gosling had been attached to the project before Whannell was brought on as director since roughly 2020,even being involved in pitching his own ideas to Universal. As such, especially after the excitement surrounding the actor’s personal success in 2023, many audiences may feel not seeing him aspart ofWolf Man’s castas a missed opportunity.
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However, with Gosling retaining an executive producer credit, his frequent collaborator Derek Cianfrance receiving a material credit, and Whannell opening up about refining the script,elements ofWolf Man’s earlier drafts have likely been retained in the final movieand just further built upon. As such, it’s relieving that some elements of the actor’s involvement may be retained on a project he was clearly passionate about.
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Even Without Gosling, Whannell’s Project Is Still Fueled by Filmmaking Passion
Between his show-stopping performance as Ken inBarbie, his action-packed role inThe Fall Guy, and anticipation for his space-faring adventure inProject Hail Mary,Gosling is one of Hollywood’s most discussed performers in recent years. Furthermore, with his relative inexperience with horror outside a selection of roles in children’s horror anthology television series in the 1990s, many were looking forward to seeing him expand his range with a horror feature, especially one involving an iconic creature.
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Nevertheless, Whannell’s openness aboutWolf Man’s journey demonstrates that while Gosling may no longer be involved, there is still an incredible amount of passion behind the production. As such, with the director’s previous success in reimagining a classic Universal Monster, there is still sure to be excitement about seeing the creature return to the big screen.
Wolf Man
Cast
Wolf Man, released on Jun 05, 2025, follows Blake and his wife Charlotte as they visit his secluded childhood home in rural Oregon. After a mysterious animal attack, they become trapped inside, and Charlotte is forced to confront Blake’s disturbing transformation amidst growing tension and fear.
