Posted in: Movies, Universal | Tagged: film, leigh whannell, Universal Pictures, wolf man

Wolf Man Director on Adding Animalistic Nuances to the Transformation

The filmmaker responsible for the new iteration of Wolf Man opened up about the character's transformations and where the idea came from.

As of now, the Universal Pictures film Wolf Man has struggled to make its budget back at the box office (though it's sure to recoup the production budget), with mixed reviews from critics and audiences. Still, the film has explored some generally solid ideas, with thoughtful creativity playing a part in its more positive reactions from moviegoers—including its detail-oriented transformation sequence.

When speaking to The New York Times about the titular character's changes, director Leigh Whannell revealed, "I had this idea of the camera moving around the room and suddenly what seemed like gibberish became legible, and you realized there was some invisible wall that the camera had crossed through. I started researching wolves, how they see, the colors of their eyes. I was thinking about how animals hear." He continues, "When we talk to our dogs, we all anthropomorphize our pets. I have whole conversations with my dog where I'm like, 'What are you doing? Oh, you're upset. What are you upset about?' You know that he's just staring at you. They recognize tone and maybe up to 20 words. I was thinking about that."

Wolf Man: Plot Summary, Cast List, Release Date

What if someone you loved became something else?

From Blumhouse and visionary writer-director Leigh Whannell, the creators of the chilling modern monster tale The Invisible Man, comes a terrifying new lupine nightmare: Wolf Man.

Golden Globe nominee Christopher Abbott (Poor Things, It Comes at Night) stars as Blake, a San Francisco husband and father, who inherits his remote childhood home in rural Oregon after his own father vanishes and is presumed dead. With his marriage to his high-powered wife, Charlotte (Emmy winner Julia Garner; Ozark, Inventing Anna), fraying, Blake persuades Charlotte to take a break from the city and visit the property with their young daughter, Ginger (Matlida Firth; Hullraisers, Coma).

But as the family approaches the farmhouse in the dead of night, they're attacked by an unseen animal and, in a desperate escape, barricade themselves inside the home as the creature prowls the perimeter. As the night stretches on, however, Blake begins to behave strangely, transforming into something unrecognizable, and Charlotte will be forced to decide whether the terror within their house is more lethal than the danger without.

The film co-stars Sam Jaeger (The Handmaid's Tale), Ben Prendergast (The Sojourn Audio Drama) and Benedict Hardie (The Invisible Man), with newcomer Zac Chandler, Beatriz Romilly (Shortland Street) and Milo Cawthorne (Shortland Street).

Wolf Man is directed by Whannell and written by Whannell & Corbett Tuck. Whannell's previous films with Blumhouse include The Invisible Man, Upgrade, and Insidious: Chapter 3. The film is produced by Blumhouse founder and CEO Jason Blum p.g.a., and Ryan Gosling (The Fall Guy, Lost River) and is executive produced by Whannell, Beatriz Sequeira, Mel Turner, and Ken Kao. Universal Pictures and Blumhouse present a Gosling/Waypoint Entertainment production, in association with Cloak & Co: Wolf Man.

Wolf Man was released in theaters on January 17, 2025.

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