Categories: Movie News

CON: The Wolfman

Hall H at the Comic-Con is a massive room, with a maximum capacity of hundreds of thousands of people. Ok, maybe not that big… but it’s pretty f*cking big! I stood in line for more than an hour, a line that twisted and turned all the way outside and around the corner to check out the first glimpse at Benicio del Toro as THE WOLFMAN courtesy of Universal Studios.

The panel kicks off with special effects ninja Rick Baker, who not only did the effects for this Wolfman, but was the dude who gave us the epic werewolf transformation in AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON. He tells us that he’s fought to make this flick happen from the beginning as he’s always wanted to do an old-school classic horror movie. Then he calls out stars Benecio del Toro and Emily Blunt and Hall H goes wild. Who knew the fanbase for this movie was so huge???

Rick Baker, Emily Blunt, Benicio del Toro

They start off by showing us the first-ever trailer for the flick, which shows us a bit of the wolfman slaughter fools left and right, and the people out to put him away forever. If you liked the Gothic style of Francis Ford Coppola’s BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA, then you’re gonna love this! It’s done hardcore serious and it’s looking like it’s gonna kick the pants off of everyone who sees it.

del Toro, Blunt, and Baker then dive into questions from the crowd and give us a little more insight into the project… here are some highlights:

Blunt is a fan of vintage horror movies over mordern-day slashers.

del Toro watched every Lon Chaney and Lon Chaney Jr. movie to prepare for the role.

del Toro had to spend over four hours in the make up chair everyday he played The Wolfman.

THE WOLFMAN is set in the 1800s and is kept as a period piece throughout.

The chose to do WOLFMAN because DRACULA and FRANKENSTEIN had already been revamped in the last few years.

Blunt was terrified of del Toro when he was in costume. The scenes where he is chasing her, she is truly scared–that’s not acting!

They don’t know yet whether it’ll be rated R or PG-13.

They choose to have the majority of the effects be practical, with only the transformation sequence done in CGI.

Baker was asked to direct PUMPKIN before it went to fellow effects guru Stan Winston–Baker says he has no desire to ever direct a movie himself.

The whole panel seemed to be having a good time being there and answering questions from the fans–so much so that they showed us the trailer again, and again… Hall H went wild. If classic, vintage horror movies are your thing, if you like Gothic period pieces, and you have a thing for del Toro, I think it’s safe to say that you’re gonna want to check out THE WOLFMAN when it hits theaters later this year.