Can Ryan Gosling's Wolfman Reboot Save The Dark Universe Franchise?
Ryan Gosling has a lot to howl about, having signed on with Universal to create a modern day take on their classic Wolfman character. Also, joining the project is director Derek Cianfrance who has worked with Gosling twice before with The Place Beyond The Pines and Blue Valentine.
Pitched early on by Gosling, his rendition was to fit into the now defunct puzzle that was the Dark Universe, which was scrapped after the lackluster performance of their 2017 remake of The Mummy starring Tom Cruise that was to be the kick off of a Universal Monster team-up not unlike what Marvel did with the MCU.
Director Cianfrance was quoted by Deadline about his excitement for this version of the classic story and having the chance to make a horror film,
Horror movies were my first love - my entry into what cinema was capable of narratively, psychologically and aesthetically. Coupled with the opportunity to collaborate with Ryan again, this is truly a dream come true. I'm thrilled and inspired to work with the good folks at Blumhouse and Universal to bring this monster back to life in our collective unconscious.
Although plot points are not yet released, this could help Universal get back on track to bring about a fully realized version of the Dark Universe. Between the star power of the Gosling/Cianfrance re-team and the success of Elizabeth Moss' and director Leigh Whannell's The Invisible Man from 2020, who backed out as director of Wolfman due to scheduling issues, these outside the box re-imaginings of tried and true properties might just have enough heat to convince producers and moviegoers to go through with a movie monster mash-up after all.
One hope for the film is that Gosling, who transformed from stoically brooding to raging lunatic in films like Drive, will bring that same sort of duality to the role of a monster trapped in a man.
Since this project is still in its infancy, Universal has yet to set a release date as of yet.
