‘Upgrade’ Director Leigh Whannell Boards Universal’s ‘Invisible Man’

Variety reports Upgrade director Leigh Whannell will helm Universal’s reboot of The Invisible Man.

The project will reunite Leigh Whannell with Jason Blum, who is producing the Invisible Man reboot under his Blumhouse Productions banner. The move is part of Universal’s new strategy for projects featuring their classic monster characters. While Universal has tabled the concept of a shared Dark Universe, Variety sources state the studio remains committed to “creating compelling filmmaker-driven projects based on characters from the studio’s vast monsters legacy.”

The outlet’s sources say the Invisible Man reboot will not feature Johnny Depp, who was previously attached to play the titular role, but he may be featured one of the other Universal Monsters projects in development. Peter Cramer, Universal’s president of production, made the following statement on Universal’s new strategy for their monster films moving forward:

Throughout cinematic history, Universal’s classic monsters have been reinvented through the prism of each new filmmaker who brought these characters to life. We are excited to take a more individualized approach for their return to screen, shepherded by creators who have stories they are passionate to tell with them.”

Initially designed the launch Universal’s Dark Universe, Tom Cruise’s The Mummy performed poorly at the box office and the studio consequently reassessed their strategy for their remaining line-up of monsters, including Dracula and Frankenstein. According to the studio insiders, Universal has met with “a number of” prolific filmmakers for various projects based on their classic monsters. With pitches for those project currently coming in, The Invisible Man may not be the first to begin production despite Upgrade helmer Leigh Whannell being tapped to direct.

The new monster movies will reportedly be rooted in horror with no budget, tone, or rating restrictions and no expectation that each individual project will part of a shared universe. According to the outlet, an insider close to the process says the characters’ origins and stories will be freed up for interpretation in an effort to help them appeal to modern audiences.

Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem, Tom Cruise, and Russell Crowe still have the option to appear in the monster films after a new filmmaker is brought on.

Are you excited to see the director of Upgrade tackle The Invisible Man? Is this new strategy a smart movie for Universal? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Source: Variety