After tackling The Invisible Man, writer/director Leigh Whannell set his sights on updating another iconic Universal Horror Monster: The Wolf Man. There have been many different incarnations of the Wolf Man character, but Whannell told ScreenRant that his version is unlike any that have come before it, adding that he even took inspiration from Heath Ledger’s Joker.
“I lined up all the different versions, I had a PDF of everyone from Lon Chaney to David Norton in American Werewolf, The Howling, Dog Soldiers. I had every look in front of me, and I’m kind of staring at it, and I’m like, ‘All right, so where do I fit in?’” Whannell explained. “You know what a big inspiration to me was, was Heath Ledger’s version of the Joker. Not so much in terms of look, but I had a photo of him on my desk as the Joker because I really love what they did there with the character.“
While Heath Ledger’s Joker is now a beloved take on the character, Whannell recalls the intense negative reaction when the first photos of Ledger in the role were released. “I find that so inspirational what they did with that character and how they approached it,” Whannell said. “And I was thinking [about] if I can take their approach to Wolf Man, and I think I did.“
The Wolf Man director gave full credit to makeup artist Arjen Tuiten for the new design, saying that he had zero notes on the initial concept. “I was just staring at it for the first time, and I was like, ‘That’s it. It just looked perfect,’” he said. “Do you know what? I never had any notes. I was like, ‘That’s it, that’s what we should do.’ It doesn’t [happen often]. Usually in L.A., in Hollywood, it’s like, ‘Can we change this?’ S–t, every screenplay I’ve written has just been absolutely inundated with notes. But when I saw the maquette, the model that Arian had made, I was like, ‘There’s no notes I can give you that would [improve this].’“
We still haven’t gotten a clear look at the new Wolf Man design yet, not even in the latest trailer, but the version that was seen at Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios didn’t win over many fans (sort of like the initial reaction to Ledger’s Joker). In a separate interview with Gizmodo, Whannell indicated that that design was not their Wolf Man. “No, I mean, without spoiling anything, that’s not our Wolf Man,” Whannell said. “And I guess, movies have so many different people involved. It’s like this huge octopus with many tentacles and you can’t always control every single aspect of something. So sometimes something might get out there that doesn’t represent what you’re doing and it just falls through the cracks. So no, it doesn’t represent [our movie].“
Wolf Man will hit theaters on January 17, 2025.