We finally got our first look at Leigh Whannell's Wolf Man

I was starting to worry that Leigh Whannell's take on Wolf Man, a reboot of the 1941 film, would never materialize, but thankfully, Universal assuaged those fears on September 6 with the first official teaser for the film. Wolf Man is currently on track to premiere in January 2025.

It's difficult to make a successful teaser, but Wolf Man nails it. I sometimes think it's challenging to make werewolves seem scary in this day and age, but if anyone can do it, it's Whannell. This will be his second time tackling a monster from Universal's classic canon. Previously, he directed The Invisible Man starring Elisabeth Moss, which is a personal favorite of mine, so obviously, I cannot wait to see what he does here.

Part of me wonders if Universal released the teaser now because a clip was circulating this weekend from this year's Halloween Horror Nights that showed a man dressed as the wolf man to promote the movie. People were...less than impressed by its appearance. I don't think that clip was actually ever indicative of how the monster will appear on screen. Nonetheless, it's probably wise for Universal to share a genuinely foreboding teaser.

As you'll see in the embedded teaser above, Wolf Man is about a family trying to stay safe from a monster stalking the woods, and it suggests that the beast in question is none other than the family's patriarch, Blake, played by Christopher Abbott. Charlotte (Julia Garner) must do whatever it takes to protect their daughter (Madeline Firth).

Not only did Whannell direct the film, but he came up with the story alongside Corbett Tuck and worked on the screenplay with Tuck, Lauren Schuker Blum, and Rebecca Angelo. Now that we have a teaser locked down and a new poster, hopefully, we'll get the official trailer sometime within the next month or so, likely around Halloween time.

The poster is great. Love the way the kid's fingers form a "W," simple yet effective.

Garner has another horror movie coming out this fall as well. The Golden Globe Award-winning actress stars in the Rosemary's Baby prequel Apartment 7A, premiering on Paramount+ this September. As for the whole werewolf thing, I feel like Wolf Man would make a great double feature with Nightbitch.

Wolf Man starts playing in theaters on January 25, 2025.