After Universal attempted to relaunch their monster’s property with the critical and box-office failure of 2017’s The Mummy, they scrapped their plans for their cinematic universe called the Dark Universe. The studio decided to do stand-alone horror stories, the first being 2020’s The Invisible Man, a box office and critical success. Hot off the victory, the studio reteamed The Invisible Man director Leigh Whannell and producer Jason Blum to do another monster property, The Wolfman, which had already secured actor Ryan Gosling for the lead role.
In an interview with Collider, producer Jason Blum confirmed they are still developing a script for The Wolfman. The successful horror producer says they are waiting on the hand to be just suitable for star Ryan Gosling, which the actor feels comfortable with. Ryan Gosling is very involved with The Wolfman as the film was green-lit from his pitch to Universal Pictures. Blum said:
The Wolfman is one of many projects based on the Universal Monsters the studio has planned. Eternals director Chloé Zhao is developing a sci-fi western Dracula movie at the studio, while a separate Dracula project from Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman based on the side character Reinfeld is in development. Elizabeth Banks is set to direct The Invisible Woman, which has no connection to the already released Invisible Man. Gosling did star in the lead role of Blade Runner 2049, a sequel to a highly influential film and Gosling himself has never expressed any disinterest in franchise films. Given he pitched The Wolfman to Universal, it appears he is very passionate about this particular project.