Ryan Gosling's Wolfman Movie Finds New Director In Derek Cianfrance
Ryan Gosling's "Wolfman" movie is not dead – it just has a new director.
Deadline reports that Derek Cianfrance, who directed last year's HBO Mark Ruffalo-led drama series "I Know This Much is True," is currently in talks to step behind the camera and take over for original director Leigh Whannell ("Upgrade"), who left the movie over scheduling conflicts. Universal and Blumhouse are overseeing this new iteration of the classic Universal Monsters character, and it certainly sounds like Cianfrance is enthusiastic about making this happen. Here's what the filmmaker had to say:
"Horror movies were my first love — my entry into what cinema was capable of narratively, psychologically and aesthetically. Coupled with the opportunity to collaborate with Ryan again, this is truly a dream come true. I'm thrilled and inspired to work with the good folks at Blumhouse and Universal to bring this monster back to life in our collective unconscious."
The Wolf Beyond the Pines
Cianfrance and Gosling have worked together twice already, teaming on 2010's devastating "Blue Valentine" and on 2012's sprawling crime saga "The Place Beyond the Pines," both of which chronicled a man experiencing significant changes in his life – something that should serve them well in telling the story of a werewolf.
Gosling originally pitched a new version of "Wolfman" last year, which was "believed to be set in present times and in the vein of Jake Gyllenhaal's thriller 'Nightcrawler,' with an obvious supernatural twist." When Whannell came on board, Whannell wrote a new script based on an idea of his own. But after Whannell left the film, Gosling reportedly pitched an idea to Cianfrance and convinced him to come on board as the director. Now Cianfrance is set to write the movie's script, so there's no telling what story elements might make it into his version or if the duo has cooked up a whole new approach to the project.
Personally, I'm thrilled about this reunion. Cianfrance is a super-talented filmmaker who recently co-wrote the excellent Riz Ahmed-led movie "Sound of Metal" and directed 2016's "The Light Between Oceans" – a movie that was met with a giant shrug by audiences and critics, but which I felt was a rapturous, swooning, gorgeous romance with unbelievable performances from Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander (who became a real-life couple on the set). If this article does absolutely nothing else, I hope it inspires you to seek out that film.