Universal is trying once again to revive their popular horror icon franchises and has managed to get Ryan Gosling to star in a new rendition of Wolfman. It looks like they finally found their director in Place Beyond the Pines and Blue Valentine‘s Derek Cianfrance. As the previous titles suggest, he has quite the history with the actor, and together they’ll bring the werewolf story back to life. Originally, Leigh Whannel was set to tackle the project but had to leave due to scheduling conflicts. Cianfrance will also write the script with Gosling, Ken Kao, and Jason Blum will also act as producers.
There’s no word exactly how they plan to reinvent the classic character. Last we got a Universal version of the werewolf storyline, it was Benicio del Toro‘s period piece. Hints are pointing to an updated interpretation that would place Gosling’s version into the modern-day. At one point they tried to create a connected universe titled the Dark Universe, but Tom Cruise‘s The Mummy tanked that idea before it even got started.
It’s uncertain if they might still want to chase this endeavor, but a revival of the classic franchise definitely set them in the right direction. Wolfman would be a very out-there direction for Cianfrance, whose background mainly lies in adult dramas, as Deadline points out. So, it’ll be interesting to see the director tackle this new type of film in his career.
Source: Deadline
