Jason Blum Celebrates Start of Production on Universal Horror's Wolf Man with Director Leigh Whannell

Later this year, we'll finally get the next chapter in Universal Pictures' reimagining of its line of classic movie monsters with Wolf Man, and for the first time, we've got a photo from the set to prove it. 

Producer Jason Blum, founder of the iconic horror production juggernaut Blumhouse, tweeted a photo over the weekend celebrating the first day on the set of the new film, which reimagines the classic 1941 picture The Wolf Man starring Lon Chaney Jr. It's a simple image, just a snapshot of director Leigh Whannell holding up the first slate for principal photography on the film, but after years of waiting for this film to materialize, it's cause for celebration. 

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Director Leigh Whannel attends the "Invisible Man" premiere at Gaumont Champs ELysees on February 17, 2020 in Paris, France; Lon Chaney Jr. appears in The Wolfman (1941). Photo: Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images; Universal Pictures/Getty Images

We've been expecting some kind of update to The Wolf Man ever since Universal's attempt at a monster movie shared universe in 2014. That universe didn't materialize, but the studio did regroup with an approach that allowed filmmakers a bit more individualized freedom in taking on new versions of classic characters. That approach eventually gave us 2020's Invisible Man, Whannell's own reboot of James Whale's 1933 classic, which arrived to critical acclaim and commercial success. On the strength of that project, Whannell was asked to reconsider a Wolf Man movie, and joined the project in the summer of 2020. 

For a while, that's where things sat, with Ryan Gosling poised to take on the title role in the new, directed and co-written by Whannell. Gosling eventually backed out of the project, leaving room for Christopher Abbott (Possessor, Poor Things) to take on the leading role, while Gosling himself will remain an executive producer. Julia Garner (Ozark, The Americans) is set to co-star. 

And right now, that's all we really know about Wolf Man. The film will star Abbott as a guy trying to stave of a "dangerous predator," which probably means he has to reckon with the realization that the predator is inside him the whole time, and there will no doubt be a werewolf design worthy of lots of consideration when the time comes. For now, though, all we can do is wait for more dispatches from the set, and count the weeks until this one is finally upon us.

Wolf Man hits theaters Oct. 25, 2024.