Wolf Man Is Not Set in the Same Universe as Invisible Man, but Leigh Whannell Does See a Connection

After seeing the first trailer for Leigh Whannell’s Wolf Man, I had galore questions. Is the full movie acceptable successful a azygous location? Is it linked with the director’s erstwhile Universal Monster movie, Invisible Man? And did helium intentionally wage homage to Jurassic Park with that archetypal sequence?

Thankfully, Whannell hopped connected a video telephone with io9 earlier this week to talk astir each that and more. The co-creator of Saw and Insidious besides explained however not conscionable covid, but besides the harsh, achy realities of beingness influenced his instrumentality connected this character. He cleared up questions surrounding the leak from Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights that seemingly revealed his finished carnal earlier immoderate footage was released. And we besides talked astir however the movie changed after prima Ryan Gosling dropped out and Christopher Abbott joined the formed successful his place.

If you haven’t already seen the trailer for the January 17 release, ticker it below, past work our in-depth Q&A with Whannell.

Germain Lussier, io9: Wolf Man, werewolves, they person specified a affluent past crossed each media. What was the scariest happening astir tackling the quality successful the franchise?

Leigh Whannell: Probably that. The conception is truthful known, arsenic you said. When you’re dealing with thing that is embedded successful worldwide civilization you’re coming up against a batch of expectations. If you’re penning an archetypal movie, you’ve got an uphill ascent to get radical to wage attention. But the bully broadside of that is cipher knows the rules. The occupation with Wolf Man is everybody knows the rules. And if you’re going to crook them oregon interruption immoderate of them oregon determination near of center, past you person to beryllium prepared for immoderate backlash from immoderate corners. But I truly was determined to springiness radical thing caller with this. So that was astir apt the scariest part.

io9: The trailer looks similar it’s precise isolated, secluded, and possibly adjacent a one-location movie. I conjecture we’ll see. But is that true? And was that a mode for your movie to separate itself from the others?

Whannell: Definitely. I deliberation I wanted to incorporate it a small more. I wanted to woody with this conception successful a precise intimate way. You know, we filmed during covid. The archetypal draught of this movie was written successful 2020. And that was a precise circumstantial mindset, arsenic you remember. Like it’s comic now, looking backmost connected it, I was conscionable talking to idiosyncratic the different time astir 2020. What a weird blip successful quality history.

io9: Totally.

Whannell: It’s weird what it does to the encephalon erstwhile you don’t permission the location for months connected end. And it’s not adjacent similar my conditions were bad. Some radical truly were struggling. I was astatine location each day, but I was capable to provender my kids and spell connected with life. But adjacent then, the madness, the compartment fever that sets in, I deliberation that truly infected this script. And adjacent though I would not telephone this a covid movie successful immoderate way, I would accidental that the publication reflects the mindset of that time. The isolation, the confinement to 1 place.

The translation begins successful Wolf Man. – © Universal

io9: Okay. That’s cool. The trailer hints astatine it, but evidently you talked astir things you expect from a Wolf Man—you expect an epic benignant of transformation. It seems similar possibly it’s a small drawn retired here. So I wonderment if you could archer america oregon tease a small spot astir your instrumentality connected the Wolf Man translation successful the movie.

Whannell: Well, it each comes from that tendency to bash thing radical hadn’t seen before. I consciousness similar erstwhile you’re dealing with a quality that’s precise well-trodden, you person to connection up thing different. And sometimes I deliberation radical don’t cognize what they privation until they spot it. I mean, adjacent reasoning of thing similar Heath Ledger successful The Dark Knight. That’s an iconic character. Chris Nolan’s coming into this movie. There’s truthful galore antithetic ways you tin spell with the Joker, right? As we’ve seen. I consciousness similar helium made a conscious determination to springiness radical a Joker they had not seen before. And it worked. And truthful that was my reasoning going into this was “What bash I do?” And I felt similar you can’t vie with Rick Baker and what helium did connected American Werewolf successful London.

io9: Right.

Whannell: So what if I took much of a illness approach? And approached it much similar thing similar The Fly?

io9: Which the trailer precise concisely teases though we don’t get to spot the afloat Wolf Man. However, thing that came retired of Halloween Horror Nights a mates of weeks backmost seemed similar it was. Was that your Wolf Man? And what tin you accidental astir however that each went down?

Whannell: No, I mean, without spoiling anything, that’s not our Wolf Man. And I guess, movies person truthful galore antithetic radical involved. It’s similar this immense octopus with galore tentacles and you can’t ever power each azygous facet of something. So sometimes thing mightiness get retired determination that doesn’t correspond what you’re doing and it conscionable falls done the cracks. So no, it doesn’t correspond [our movie]. I deliberation I would accidental Arjen Tuiten, who was our prosthetics decorator and constitution creator connected this movie, he’s a superb artist. I would enactment my wealth connected him that he’s ever going to springiness you thing right.

io9: And I deliberation you astir apt person the aforesaid estimation by this constituent too.

Whannell: Well, yeah. And truthful it’s not amusive if thing gets retired determination that possibly misrepresents the film, particularly successful the net property erstwhile things tin dispersed astir quickly. But each you tin bash is say, “Well, let’s hold for radical to spot the movie and past [they’ll] marque up their minds,” due to the fact that I’m truly assured successful what Arjen and I did with the movie.

Director Leigh Whannell (right) connected acceptable of Wolf Man. – © Universal

io9: I can’t wait. Now this is the question you’re going to beryllium asked a cardinal times, but I’m present aboriginal truthful I’m going to get connected it. You made Invisible Man. You made Wolf Man. This is secluded truthful I don’t deliberation we’re going to spot immoderate crossover, but successful your mind, bash they instrumentality spot successful the aforesaid universe?

Whannell: I would say, successful a conscious way, I didn’t privation that to happen. However, the household is successful San Francisco. And I bash deliberation of this movie arsenic similar a spiritual relative to Invisible Man successful immoderate ways. But I would accidental it doesn’t instrumentality spot successful the literal aforesaid universe—but it precise overmuch takes spot successful the aforesaid vibe. To me, it feels similar a spiritual relative and that’s my attack to these monster movies, a much grounded attack similar I did with Invisible Man.

io9: Okay excellent. Now, Chris Abbott is awesome. I’ve loved him for years and it’s truthful chill to spot him arsenic a rubric quality here. But helium evidently wasn’t the archetypal Wolf Man. It was Ryan Gosling. How did the movie alteration erstwhile Ryan near and Chris came on?

Whannell: Yeah, Ryan’s accumulation institution was progressive successful the opening and helium was looking astatine it arsenic thing to enactment in. And past of course, schedules alteration and the years spell by. I’m truly blessed helium stayed connected arsenic a producer, but I’m truly truthful blessed with what Chris did. I’ve known his enactment for years and I’ve ever been a instrumentality of his. But erstwhile it occurred to maine that helium could play this role, I was obsessed with that idea. I mean, arsenic a movie fan, if I wasn’t progressive with this movie, I would beryllium excited to spot Chris Abbott play a relation similar this.

io9: Oh yeah.

Whannell: There’s definite actors you cognize they’re going to springiness you thing different.

io9: Yes, and I deliberation Julia Garner is 1 of those people. She’s got a twelvemonth coming up adjacent twelvemonth and watching the trailer, again, it’s called Wolf Man. But she seems to beryllium the pb character. Am I getting the close vibes erstwhile I ticker that here?

Whannell: I would accidental it’s genuinely equal. I deliberation erstwhile you spot the movie, you’ll spot what I mean. Like it’s a household unit. And I consciousness similar each of them person a large portion successful this truthful I wouldn’t extremity it 1 mode oregon the other.

Julia Garner successful Wolf Man – © Universal

io9: I besides loved the benignant of acold unfastened of the trailer, the motortruck successful the tree. Gotta ask, were the Jurassic Park vibes intentional? 

Whannell: Well, I bash emotion that series successful The Lost World erstwhile Julianne Moore is trapped successful that benignant of motortruck that’s hanging disconnected the cliff. Yeah, maybe. I mean, I emotion Jurassic Park. It had specified a large effect connected me. And I deliberation what happens with movies similar that is they spell into your subconscious. And adjacent if you’re not consciously penning it, you’re trying to make thing that evokes that aforesaid consciousness of fearfulness that I felt watching Jurassic Park successful the theater. So it’s successful determination connected a subconscious level for sure.

io9: You mightiness not privation to reply this and that’s good if not. But I emotion the past changeable of the trailer. About erstwhile does that hap successful the movie, if you tin say?

Whannell: I don’t privation to springiness it away. But that’s not the climax of the movie, I’ll accidental that.

io9: Okay. So we person a girl and a woman being hunted by the father. Are daddy issues a taxable successful this movie?

Whannell: For me, I wouldn’t accidental it’s daddy issues. I deliberation it’s astir family. One of the beauteous things astir being with household is this aggravated emotion you person for your children, for your spouse, if you’re lucky. Not everybody gets that. But what’s tragic astir it is you cognize you’re going to suffer these people. You know, I’ve been reasoning astir my parents a batch lately due to the fact that they’re getting older and this consciousness of mortality creeps in. Everybody knows that the woody is, the bargain is you’re not going to beryllium with everyone forever. That day’s going to come. You get a telephone telephone and it’s like, “It’s your sister oregon it’s your uncle” and they say, “I’m truly atrocious to archer you, your dada conscionable passed” oregon whatever. And we each cognize that time is coming. We effort not to deliberation astir it due to the fact that it would beryllium depressing to locomotion astir each time and think, “Oh, 1 time I’m going to suffer my wife, my father, my mother.” We debar that conversation. But it is coming. And what I bash erstwhile I constitute fearfulness films is, I deliberation astir the questions that nary 1 talks about. This unspoken thing. And truthful I wanted to marque a movie not astir daddy issues but astir the thought that we lone person a abbreviated magnitude of clip with people. Eventually, we’re going to suffer them.

I’ve had to ticker friends of excavation die. Somebody mislaid their spouse early. A truly bully person of mine, his woman was diagnosed with a superior terminal illness. And implicit the people of the adjacent 2 years, she disintegrated. And it was a precise hard happening to watch. And it’s the real-life mentation of the fearfulness movie. My person really described it to maine 1 time arsenic “It’s similar a fearfulness movie.” There’s the amusive portion erstwhile you get joined oregon immoderate past there’s the portion wherever you’re cleaning idiosyncratic up connected the toilet. The Michael Haneke movie Amour was a precise serious… I did a movie festival during pre-production. Every Wednesday nighttime we would ticker a movie. It was called the Full Moon Film Club.

io9: Nice.

Whannell: And Amour was 1 of the movies we watched. So that is what I was trying to get astatine with this movie is that idea, arsenic opposed to like, “I hatred my begetter due to the fact that helium bushed maine up.”

io9: Well, that is an unthinkable answer. It makes maine privation to spot it that overmuch much and I’m definite I’ll speech to you successful a mates of months.

Whannell: I can’t hold for you to spot it erstwhile it comes out.

Wolf Man hits theaters January 17, 2025.

Want much io9 news? Check retired erstwhile to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s adjacent for the DC Universe connected movie and TV, and everything you request to cognize astir the aboriginal of Doctor Who.