Ryan Gosling to Star in Universal’s Wolfman Reboot

Ryan Gosling is set to be the latest actor to catch lycanthrope, starring in Universal’s Wolfman reboot. Variety reports that the a La Land and Blade Runner 2049 star will topline the reboot, which is titled Wolfman currently seeking a director. The site notes that there are no frontrunners for helming the film, but that Cory Finley (HBO’s Bad Education) is in the running.

Plot details on the film are under wraps, but it is believed to be set in present times and, per the site, is “in the vein” of the Jake Gyllenhaal thriller Nightcrawler with the requisite werewolf twist that the title requires.

The Wolf Man is best known as the Lon Chaney Jr. film, which Universal produced in 1941 during the studio’s rise from dire financial straits on the back of its horror films. Chaney starred as Lawrence Talbot, an American who returns to his ancestral home in Wales following the death of his brother and ends up attacked by a werewolf. Chaney would play the role in four films for Universal.

The studio remade the original film in 2010 with The Wolfman starring Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving. The film was a bomb critically and commercially, grossing just $142.7 million worldwide against an exorbitant $150 million production budget. It did win the Oscar for Best Makeup thanks to the work of Rick Baker and Dave Elsey.

Universal has been taking pitches from a host of filmmakers for takes on their classic monsters, with James Wan, Paul Feig, and John Krasinski all reportedly having pitched ideas for lower-budget unique takes on the original films.