Wolf Man Producer Beatriz Sequeira Details the Journey of Reviving the Monster

The Universal Monsters are some of the most beloved creatures in all of cinema, as they’ve not only been brought to life in dozens of proper ways over the years, but have also inspired countless imitators. Many audiences would consider offering up a new take on 1941’s The Wolf Man as a sure-fire success, but with the shortcomings of 2010’s The Wolfman, it’s taken another 15 years to this month’s Wolf Man. One reason why fans, and producer Beatriz Sequeira, have more confidence in the upcoming take on the concept is that it comes from writer/director Leigh Whannell, who previously found success in his The Invisible Man. Wolf Man lands in theaters on January 17th.

“I do trust him implicitly, it was like, ‘In Leigh we trust,’ basically,” Sequeira shared with ComicBook about the project, with the two having also worked together on Invisible Man. But also when I saw it, I was like, ‘Yeah, this is happening.’”

Even with Sequeira’s confidence in Whannell, the Wolf Man hitting theaters this weekend has undergone some changes since it was initially announced. When the project was first announced in 2020, Ryan Gosling was expected to star, with the movie then adding Whannell. Director Derek Cianfrance then took over the project from Whannell, only for Christopher Abbott to step in for Gosling as Whannell reunited with the project. Despite the various changes, Sequeira explained that what audiences see in theaters aligns with Whannell’s original vision.

“Leigh’s version has not changed a lot,” the producer confirmed. “We definitely wanted to do a more grounded version of the Wolf Man movie, and I think that that never really changed, so a more human story of a Wolf Man.”

[RELATED – Wolf Man Star Christopher Abbott Talks Becoming a Creature of the Night]

Wolf Man is described, “What if someone you loved became something else? From Blumhouse and visionary writer-director Leigh Whannell, the creators of the chilling modern monster tale The Invisible Man, comes a terrifying new lupine nightmare: Wolf Man. Golden Globe nominee Christopher Abbott (Poor Things, It Comes at Night) stars as Blake, a San Francisco husband and father, who inherits his remote childhood home in rural Oregon after his own father vanishes and is presumed dead. With his marriage to his high-powered wife, Charlotte (Emmy winner Julia Garner; Ozark, Inventing Anna), fraying, Blake persuades Charlotte to take a break from the city and visit the property with their young daughter, Ginger (Matlida Firth; Hullraisers, Coma).

“But as the family approaches the farmhouse in the dead of night, they’re attacked by an unseen animal and, in a desperate escape, barricade themselves inside the home as the creature prowls the perimeter. As the night stretches on, however, Blake begins to behave strangely, transforming into something unrecognizable, and Charlotte will be forced to decide whether the terror within their house is more lethal than the danger without. The film co-stars Sam Jaeger (The Handmaid’s Tale), Ben Prendergast (The Sojourn Audio Drama), and Benedict Hardie (The Invisible Man).”

Going along with the idea of making a more ground Wolf Man, a key component of that was reimaging what a “Wolf Man” would look like in this world. The final on-screen look of the creature is a credit to both Whannell’s vision and makeup designer Arjen Tuiten.

“So I introduced [Whannell] to Arjen Tuiten, who is the makeup designer, because I knew that we needed somebody that was a visionary and that will be very passionate about it,” the producer detailed of the monster’s look. “And they hit it off and then when the first time that we saw the maquette, I was like, ‘Well, that is it.’”

Wolf Man hits theaters on January 17th.

Are you looking forward to the movie? Contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!