‘Wolf Man’ Finds New Lead In Christopher Abbott Following Ryan Gosling’s Exit, Leigh Whannell Back As Director
Christopher Abbott will be playing the titular part in Universal and Blumhouse’s Wolf Man, which Leigh Whannell (The Invisible Man) is back developing.
The Hollywood Reporter broke the news earlier today, also noting that the studio is set on an October 25, 2024, release date. Ryan Gosling had been attached to play the part for a few years. Whannell had originally signed on but had to drop out due to a scheduling conflict in 2021. Gosling, who will remain as an executive producer on the project, then brought in his The Place Beyond the Pines director Derek Cianfrance. Cianfrance has also left, though the reason remains unknown.
The script is by Whannell and Corbett Tuck, along with Dumb Money‘s Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo. With a new lead in place and a release date less than a year away, production should begin within weeks.
Abbott has been waiting for a big moment for years, and perhaps this could be it. He’d worked with Gosling on First Man too. But Wolf Man has a very different tone and feel from Abbott and Whannell than it had with Gosling and Cianfrance, although that always seemed too good to be true.
Abbott can currently be seen in Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things and is also set to reunite with Emma Stone in Ari Aster’s upcoming Eddington. He appeared in this year’s The Crowded Room and next year, he is on Kraven the Hunter and Justin Aderson’s Swimming Home.
Gosling is expected to get an Oscar nomination for his turn as Ken in Barbie, and he should also be up for Best Original Song (“I’m Just Ken”), a competitive category that Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” could easily get home. Regardless, expect a big musical number come March 10 from Gosling. Next year, he has David Leitch’s The Fall Guy and could start filming the upcoming Ocean’s Eleven prequel (rumored to be titled Oceans) with Margot Robbie. Rumored plot details have him and Margot as Danny and Debbie Ocean’s parents.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
