‘Blue Valentine’ Filmmaker Derek Cianfrance Will Now Direct Ryan Gosling in ‘The Wolfman’

It was announced back in 2020 that Universal was prepping a new take on The Wolfman, with Ryan Gosling attached to star as the title character/classic Universal Studios monster. Leigh Whannell (The Invisible Man) was originally in negotiations to direct the film for Blumhouse, but today brings an update from Deadline that Whannell is off the project.

Derek Cianfrance, who previously directed Ryan Gosling in the exceptional films The Place Beyond the Pines and Blue Valentine, will be reuniting with Gosling for The Wolfman!

Cianfrance is now also writing the script, with Jason Blum producing.

Deadline notes, “It’s unknown what the new take on Wolfman will look like, though it is believed to be a modern take and not a period piece like the one starring Benicio del Toro.”

The original pitch, Deadline also notes, came courtesy of Gosling himself.

“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,” said Cianfrance.

Beyond Cianfrance’s Wolfman, a new take on the 1941 classic, it sounds like Blumhouse is also working with Universal Studios on other fresh takes on the classic Universal Monsters.