Leigh Whannell's The Wolf Man deviated from Ryan Gosling's original script, and the writer/director told me why

If you thought you were hearing a strange amount of noise coming from New York City this weekend, you’re absolutely right. With New York Comic-Con now over, there’s a lot of anticipation for what’s left on the 2024 entertainment slate, as well as continued enthusiasm for upcoming movies 2025.

And it turns out that writer/director Leigh Whannell Wolf Man is one of the first entries that is getting ready to be released in the near future. But if you’re like me, you remember this Universal initially announced a proposal from Ryan Gosling this looks very different from what we see in image marketing. So, as I had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Whannell himself, I had him explain how this change occurred, which led to a rather interesting story.

How Ryan Gosling’s Wolf Man Turned Into Leigh Whannell’s Blumhouse Spin

One of the most sought-after tickets for New York Comic-Con 2024 was Universal Pictures and Blumhouse’s BlumFest panel; which took to the Empire Stage last Saturday. After revealing a new trailer that added what do we know about Wolf Manas well as other delights such as a special M3GAN 2.0 tease, CinemaBlend was present during the press line to further promote the materials we just saw.

There’s a good reason why Leigh Whannell was saved as the last contestant, as the man is a easy conversationalist. So when I asked him how the Gosling variant turned into this dark and tragic family drama, the Invisible man director shared the following:

This was initially a concept that was in progress. You know, Ryan was developing this film with his production company. … After talking to him, he’s a huge fan of Halloween and monsters, like he’s the biggest monster fan there is. So he was possibly developing it for him to act. And I accepted it and, you know, my advice was just, ‘Look, I don’t think we should try a comedic approach to this. I think we should really be radical here. And this is the Wolfman movie that people want to see. And that’s what they deserve, you know? And he agreed and said, ‘Let’s go (with) it.’
Leigh Whannell, CinemaBlend

Leigh Whannell is certainly a creature fan, as the Australian genre talent stood in front of me with an incredible Predator t-shirt under a smart blazer. Then again, you can take that away from seeing how much the man enjoys making films about the strange and unusual, through other hits like To updateand, of course, his writings in the original entry of Mountain range franchise.

Ryan Gosling with a bloody nose in Blade Runner 2049.

(Image credit: Warner Bros./Alcon Entertainment)

Credentials like the ones made Leigh Whannell Wolf Man hiringannounced just a few months after Ryan Gosling boarded the project in 2020, quite an interesting item to follow. And one would think that this kind of meeting of the minds between the monster lovers would have made a perfect pair.

While I still think this would be absolutely true, the rest of this part of the story explains why the Barbie star was unable to attend Wolf Man walk from. Whannell continued with the following explanation, in his chat with CinemaBlend:

It dragged on, and for scheduling reasons, you know, Ryan had to step away, and then I stepped away and came back. It’s this kind of strange life that films have, this strange gestation period. … That’s what happened with this film. It just went through this gestation period and so I feel like it ended up with the right people.
Leigh Whannell, CinemaBlend

Leigh Whannell has clearly taken this “gestation period” in stride and even mentioned that he loves reading Wikipedia entries about films like Raiders of the Lost Arkand remembering that Tom Selleck almost played the lead role. Although this comment led down a little James Bond rabbit hole thanks to the mention of how James Brolin almost played 007 in Octopusthis also led us to a chat about why Wolf Man the current leads were so perfect.

Julia Garner, Christopher Abbott and Matilda Firth are stunned in the dark forest bathed in red light in Wolf Man.

(Image credit: Universal Pictures)

Why Leigh Whannell Thankes God for Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner

So clearly the “bad news” in this film’s previous development was that Ryan Gosling could no longer star in the film. However, the end of 2023 saw Christopher Abbott Wolf Man foundry helped energize the project ahead of its filming in early 2024.

Before anyone could howl into the darkness, we began to see and hear reactions to the footage that was out in the wild, thanks to Abbott and his co-star Julia Garner absolutely killing it in their roles. Continuing to love on the long and complicated path that led to Wolf Man As we see today, Leigh Whannell revealed the following:

Ryan remained as producer and Chris Abbott took over the role. Now that I’m finishing the film, I’m looking at the final product (and) I think, ‘Thank God we found Chris and Julia to do this.’ … Certain actors become known for their intensity. As you know, Sean Penn, Phillips Seymour Hoffman. There are certain actors that you think, you know, every time Joaquin Phoenix does a movie, you know he’s not going half-heartedly. … I really feel like Chris is in that club of actors like Joaquin Phoenix, and other actors of his ilk, where you think, ‘this guy is an actor’s actor.’ I needed something that was equivalent to Jeff Goldblum in The Fly. Which to me is a high water mark for the horror performances in that film, and Geena Davis’ (acting) as well.
Leigh Whannell, CinemaBlend

This intensity was slowly but surely revealed to the public throughout 2024, as trailers and Wolf Man CinemaCon Presentation They already promise a story of goosebumps and tears. Leigh Whannell alluded to this during New York Comic-Con’s Blumfest panel, as he also dropped the fact that he periodically screened a few select horror films to prepare his cast and crew, while also giving them a break with a screening of the moving drama Love.

It is clear that although Whannell wants remove Adam Sandler’s Universal Monstershe wants to do it in a way that is as emotional as it is scary. Which may also be part of why Wolf Man the original leader left this project, thanks to Ryan Gosling’s rejection of obscure projects for family reasons. Especially when the resulting lycanthropic romp looks as terrifying as the latest images shared below:

The story of Wolf Man the transformation is likely far from over, as more details will likely start to reach the world as we get closer to the January 17th release date. Whatever other interesting stories are lurking, as well as any potential additional context given by Ryan Gosling’s end of things, you can be sure they’ll make headlines and Wikipedia as soon as they’re revealed.

With that in mind, stay up to date on this and all others upcoming Blumhouse films. There are 10 films that this production will release to the world next year, along with its partner Atomic Monster, and just like our coverage of New York Comic-Con 2024, there is a lot of madness to come. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to head over to the new Blumhouse merchandise store, which has some fun items you can purchase to support your local scare factory!

How Ryan Gosling’s Wolf Man Turned Into Leigh Whannell’s Blumhouse Spin

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