The latest attempt at rebooting Universal’s classic Wolf Man series is nearly here and we’ve finally gotten our first look at what the werewolf will look like in the movie. And uh, well, it’s not great. But there’s a chance it’s not quite the final product.
In case you missed it, Universal’s long-in-development (second) Wolf Man reboot finally picked up some steam last year, along with a release date. However, that initial October 2024 date shifted to January 2025. And if you didn’t know, movies that studios aren’t confident in or which they expect to be bad often get dumped in January. Anyway, totally unrelated to that factoid, let’s take a look at the first reveal of the new Wolf Man’s design.
Over at Universal Studios Orlando, the park’s long-running Halloween Horror Nights event is in full swing. It’s there that the new look of the Wolf Man debuted recently, and the reaction hasn’t been great. Here’s the Wolf Man via HHNSpeculationMatt, a content creator who covers the spooky event.
Now, I don’t need to tell you, but this looks bad. The internet is having a field day with the new design, joking about how it doesn’t look like a werewolf and how it’s not very scary, either.
But a few things to keep in mind: One, this isn’t the actual outfit or costume that will be used in the upcoming film. That movie will likely use a mix of CG and more expensive practical makeup to create its scary werewolf. Two, this might be a version of the character that we see in the movie, but not the final or only form.
Still, even if we assume the final version will look better, this design doesn’t look much like a wolf. It looks more like a cranky old goblin. Personally, if I was running the ship over at Universal and Blumhouse, I’d be scrambling right now to get a Wolf Man trailer out the door that shows off a better-looking version of the iconic monster. (And before I gave up my power, I’d then order them to make a Happy Death Day 3.)
Wolf Man releases in theaters in January 2025. I hope the werewolf looks better than this Halloween Horror Nights version.
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