The classic horror movie The Wolf Man is beloved by many, and it helped popularize the concept of werewolves on the big screen. Since the original film, there have been several remakes and attempts at remakes over the years. The latest of these is courtesy of Blumhouse, with the production company set to release a truly modern take on the concept.
The upcoming 2025 movie Wolf Man is the newest version of the werewolf franchise, and so far, it looks much different. Intended as part of a shared universe at one point, it’s now a much more standalone movie that will start off 2025 with a howl. Though there’s a lot of speculation on how the finished product will look, the film comes after several successful and failed revisions of other classic Universe monster movies.
The Plot of Wolf Man, Explained
The new Wolf Man focuses on a family man named Blake, who relocates to his former home in California following a mysterious and disturbing family disappearance. Moving there with his wife and daughter, the family gets settled into their new home. Unfortunately, this peace is soon ended when they’re attacked by a werewolf, with Blake himself slashed across the arm by the creature. This causes his own disturbing transformation, and with the family barricaded in doors, they run the risk of becoming his prey amid a most gruesome devolution.
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A notable change is that the main character in the movie doesn’t have some variation of the name “Talbot.” At the same time, Blake and his family’s surname has yet to be revealed, so it could in fact be Talbot. Likewise, the synopsis and the presence of another werewolf suggests that Blake’s missing father in the movie may have himself become a werewolf. Beyond these hints and the brief synopsis, there’s not much else known about the story of Wolf Man, though this will likely change with more teasers/trailers.
The Cast of Wolf Man
The star of Wolf Man is Christopher Abbot, who plays the main character, Blake. Abbot has previously appeared in several psychological thrillers and horror movies, and he was part of the cast in 2023’s unique film Poor Things opposite Emma Stone. He was also in the TV series The Sinner, as well as several theatrical roles on Broadway.
Blake’s wife Charlotte is played by Julia Garner, who’s most well-known for her role as Ruth Langmore in the Netflix series Ozark. Perhaps her standout role was that of the titular character Anna Sorokin in the miniseries Inventing Anna, which saw her nominated for multiple awards. Besides starring in Wolf Man, Garner also poised to portray the Silver Surfer in 2025’s Fantastic Four: First Steps.
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The couple’s daughter Ginger is played by newcomer Matilda Firth, with these three characters being the only confirmed so far. At the same time, there are other actors (both established and otherwise) who are set to be in the movie. One of these is Sam Jaeger, who previously had roles in the first DC Extended Universe Shazam! film and the popular TV series The Handmaid’s Tale.
Power Rangers star Milo Cawthorne is also in the movie, having starred in the aforementioned franchise in the series Power Rangers RPM. The other confirmed actors are Ben Prendergast, Benedict Hardie, Zac Chandler and Beatriz Romilly, but once again, it’s unknown who they are playing in Wolf Man.
Development of 2025’s Wolf Man
The idea of rebooting/remaking The Wolf Man came about in 2014, when it was intended for the film to take place in Universal’s planned “Dark Universe.” The script went through two writers and even had Dwayne Johnson tentatively considered (according to rumors) to portray the title character. Unfortunately, this entire idea was scrapped in 2017 due to the failure of the remake of The Mummy, which was a critical and commercial dud.
As a result, the Dark Universe concept was completely abandoned, and any attempts to get it off the ground have been similarly canned. Instead, Universal has now gone for more individualized renditions of their old monsters, doing away with the idea of a shared universe in favor of more director-driven singular projects. The success of the 2020 version of Invisible Man strengthened this new direction, with discussion of a similar remake for The Wolf Man coming back into fruition. Leigh Whannell, the director of Invisible Man, was eventually attached to work on the Wolf Man remake.
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Due to a conflict in schedule, however, this temporarily changed until after the 2023 Writer’s Strike. This happened after Derek Chianfrance, who was poised to direct the film, had to leave the project. The same was the case with popular actor Ryan Gosling, who retained a producer’s credit but would no longer be playing the main character. Christopher Abbot was announced to replace him in 2023, with Garner, Jaeger and Firth added to the cast the following year. Whannell has noted that the movie’s central concept was born out of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, with many of the scenes derived from loneliness and the inevitability of death.
A teaser image for the film was first seen in August 2024 as part of Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights, with an actor portraying the character in September. This initial look at the film’s title monster has received a mixed reception among those who’ve seen it. Taking inspiration from previous Wolfman designs (while also avoiding them) and, of all things, the design for Heath Ledger’s Joker in The Dark Knight, the film’s take on the creature has been described as “balding” and has long white hair on the back of his head.
Wolf Man‘s first trailer is judicious with a close look at the supposedly “tragic” version of the monster, however, and the design is likely to be kept under wraps until the movie actually comes out. The same is the case with the appearance for Count Orlok in the upcoming remake of Nosferatu, with the title vampire not being fully seen yet in the trailers.
The Release Date of Wolf Man
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Principal photography for Wolf Man began in March 2024 in New Zealand, with Universal and horror mainstay Blumhouse Productions involved. The film was at one point set for an October 25, 2024 release date, but this was back when Ryan Gosling had just been announced as being replaced by Christopher Abbot in the title role. Thus, Whannell had yet to return as the director of the project, further explaining the delay and why the movie didn’t meet this intended schedule. This makes it one of several films delayed due to the aforementioned 2023 SAG-AFTRA Writer’s Strike.
With the vacancy left by the movie’s rescheduling, the October 25 release date was instead taken by Sony’s Venom: The Last Dance. Now, Wolf Man is scheduled to be released on January 17, 2025. January has historically been seen as something of a “dump month” by studios for movies of somewhat dubious quality. At the same time, recent years have been gnawing away at this reputation. After all, January 2023 saw the release of the modern slasher classic M3GAN, which is already in a new pantheon of horror icons.
It’s unlikely that the new film builds into any sort of revived version of the Dark Universe, as it seems to be entirely standalone. Nevertheless, if it succeeds, fans will finally have a good modern werewolf movie, which is something that hasn’t been seen on the big screen in years.
Wolf Man
- Director
- Leigh Whannell
- Release Date
- January 17, 2025
- Cast
- Christopher Abbott , Julia Garner , Matilda Firth , Sam Jaeger , Benedict Hardie
- Writers
- Leigh Whannell , Corbett Tuck , Lauren Schuker Blum , Rebecca Angelo
- Studio(s)
- Blumhouse Productions
- Distributor(s)
- Universal Pictures
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