Christopher Abbott is joining the Blumhouse cinematic monster universe with horror film “Wolf Man.”
The “Poor Things” star and “Girls” alum leads the Blumhouse and Universal feature about a werewolf. Julia Garner also stars.
Ryan Gosling produces the film, which is directed by “Saw” co-creator and “The Invisible Man” helmer Leigh Whannell. Gosling was originally cast in the lead role before exiting the project; Abbott took over the titular part.
Abbott and Garner previously starred in “Martha, Marcy, May, Marlene” together in 2011.
Director Whannell is a Blumhouse staple, having previously directed “The Invisible Man,” “Upgrade,” and “Insidious: Chapter 3″ for the studio.
Whannell co-wrote the “Wolf Man” script with Corbett Tuck, Lauren Schuker Blum, and Rebecca Angelo. Jason Blum is producing the film, a Blumhouse and Motel Movies production, with Gosling Ken Kao, Bea Sequeira, Mel Turner, and Whannell executive producing.
The official synopsis reads: “The film follows Blake (Abbott), 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 (Garner), fraying, Blake persuades Charlotte to take a break from the city and visit the property with their young daughter, Ginger (Matilda Firth). 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.”
After his Blumhouse debut, Abbott will star in the Netflix adaptation of “East Of Eden” alongside Florence Pugh. Zoe Kazan, whose grandfather Elia Kazan directed the 1955 film, is writing and executive producing the limited series. Abbott also appears in 2024 festival debuts “It Doesn’t Matter” and “Bring Them Down,” the latter with Barry Keoghan.
Meanwhile, Garner is joining the MCU with “The Fantastic Four” as Shalla-Bal, who first appeared in the Silver Surfer comics. Garner continues the horror genre outside of “Wolf Man” with “Rosemary’s Baby” prequel film “Apartment 7A.”
“Wolf Man” premieres January 17 in theaters. Check out the trailer below.
