‘The Wolf Man’ Next Universal Monster Movie To Get A Reboot

The Wolf Man is the next Universal horror film to get the reboot treatment, as Universal continues to work toward creating a new monster movie universe.

Universal recently released Dracula Untold as the first in a series of films aimed at creating a universe similar to the Marvel universe. A new Mummy film, which isn’t expected to be like the cheesy Brendan Fraser adventures, is slated for 2016. Now Universal has their sights set on The Wolf Man in order to keep building the universe.

There are scant reports on the reboot at this time, though the film does appear to be in the works. The studio is trying to wrangle in the talents of screenwriter Aaron Guzikowski, who wrote the compelling screenplay for Prisoners last year. There is no director tied to the film, and obviously there are no plot details.

The original version of The Wolf Man starred Lon Chaney Jr. as Laurence Talbot, the doomed son of an English patriarch who defends off the attack of a werewolf and becomes one himself. The transformation of Chaney from Talbot into The Wolf Man was groundbreaking at the time, and The Wolf Man appeared in a great number of spinoffs and sequels throughout Universal’s run.

An attempt was made to reboot The Wolf Man back in 2010, with Joe Johnston directing Benicio Del Toro in the starring role. the film, which also starred Anthony Hopkins, was crippled by a myriad of setbacks during production, including alterations in the screenplay and the director. The remake was ultimately dumped in the early part of 2010 and was met with poor reviews and an even poorer box office return.

The Wolf Man remake does not have a firm release date. However, Universal has announced an unnamed monster movie with the release date in April 2017, so it is anticipated that this will be the time when The Wolf Man will hit theaters.

[photo credit: x-ray delta one]