Wolf Man director Leigh Whannell says that not everyone will like the look of the titular beast in the upcoming film – as the effects are 100% practical.
“I think you have to bring a new approach,” Whannell says in the new issue of SFX magazine, which features Star Trek spin-off movie Section 31 on the cover and hits newsstands on December 31. “Maybe there are some people that won’t like it because they love the traditional wolf too much, but that was the approach I wanted.” The filmmaker also adds that the Wolf Man is “100% practical, all make-up – there are no CGI elements.”
It’s worth noting that, during the 2024 Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights event in Orlando, a performer in make-up took to the stage for a Wolf Man photo-op – which led many to believe that this was the official look for Whannell’s movie.
“Things slipped through the cracks, and it was like, ‘Oh, they’re doing this promotion for Wolf Man at a theme park, but it doesn’t look right,'” Whannell explains. “We shouldn’t be putting that out in the world, because people are going to think that’s what our wolf looks like.’ My only response is to say, ‘Look, that doesn’t represent what we’re doing.’ All I can do is wait for the movie to come out. Then hopefully people will be like, ‘Oh, I see what they were doing.'” So, if you think you’ve seen the Wolf Man…you haven’t.
The film stars Christopher Abbott as Blake, a family man who relocates from San Francisco to Oregon with his workaholic wife Charlotte (Julia Garner) and daughter Ginger (Matilda Firth) after inheriting his childhood home. One night, Blake gets (unknowlingy) attacked by a werewolf and slowly begins to change…
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Wolf Man releases on January 17, 2025. Read more in the latest issue of SFX magazine, which features Star Trek spin-off movie Section 31 on the cover and hits newsstands on Tuesday, December 31.
