Wolf Man: Potential First Look at New Universal Monster Has Fans Confused

The Wolf Man is one of the most iconic figures in the roster of Universal Monsters, with The Invisible Man director Leigh Whannell delivering an all-new Wolf Man in 2025. Fans are wondering how the filmmaker will revive and reimagine the beast for contemporary audiences, and while the very first glimpse at the project came in the form of promotional art last week, a new video taken at Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando Resort might have given us our first glimpse at the figure. With how unceremonious this reveal is, fans have been left a bit confused as to whether this is the official look for the titular character, while also wondering how the monster will look within the context of the movie. Wolf Man is set to hit theaters on January 17, 2025.

“The Wolf Man from the upcoming Blumhouse film has made his HHN debut!” @HHNSpeculationMatt captioned his footage taken at Halloween Horror Nights this week.

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Far from looking like any of the more monstrous versions of the figure we’ve seen in cinema, this character looks like a grizzled old man with a white beard and large, wolf-like claws. With his Invisible Man, Whannell reimagined the concept to be that the titular character wore an optic suit that refracted light, allowing for him to be invisible, so it’s unclear at this point if he is similarly reimagining what the concept of a “Wolf Man” really is.

Most of the reactions to the footage were a mix of confusion and disappointment, with @TheGhostHost asking, “Who is responsible for that?! Someone needs to answer for this design, cause that is not a wolfman!” while @scary_scarah teased, “This would be what Blumhouse thinks a werewolf should look like lol.”

Some fans gave the creature the benefit of the doubt that this wouldn’t be the final look of the titular character, with @pumpkin_gaymer pondering, “Hoping this is mid-transformation or something lol. Still excited for the movie tho,” as @JJ_Kresl speculated, “Very sure this isn’t the final look for the movie lol.”

However this performer might look in person, the Wolf Man’s presence in the upcoming movie will likely be a bit more effective, and it’s entirely possible that the underwhelming responses to this look at the character could inspire Blumhouse to release a more compelling look at the new movie sooner rather than later.

The new film will star Christopher Abbott as the title character, with Ozark‘s Julia Garner and The Handmaid’s Tale‘s Sam Jaeger also starring in the picture. Whannell wrote the film with Corbett Tuck, Lauren Schuker Blum, and Rebecca Angelo, while Jason Blum and his Blumhouse Productions, Ken Kao, Bea Sequeira, Mel Turner, and Whannell all serve as executive producers. Also serving as an executive producer is Ryan Gosling, who had been attached to star in the project since 2020.

Wolf Man is set to hit theaters on January 17, 2025.

What do you think of the video? Contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!