Universal has set a March 13, 2020 release date for its update on the classic H.G. Wells novel The Invisible Man, which is being produced by Blumhouse.
Directed by Leigh Whannell (Upgrade, Insidious: Chapter 3), and starring Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale, Us) and Storm Reid (A Wrinkle in Time, 12 Years a Slave, When They See Us), The Invisible Man follows Cecilia (Moss), who receives the news of her abusive ex-boyfriend’s suicide. She begins to re-build her life for the better. However, her sense of reality is put into question when she begins to suspect her deceased lover is not actually dead.
Johnny Depp was previously signed to star in the film when it was part of the Dark Universe but is no longer involved. Now that Dark Universe has been scuttled, the film is now being developed as a standalone project with the hiring of Upgrade and Insidious franchise creator Leigh Whannell to write and direct the project.
Universal is committed to creating filmmaker-driven projects based on the classic characters from the Universal Monsters legacy instead of developing a connected universe of monster stories. Peter Cramer, president of production at Universal, said: “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.”
The upcoming remakes will be “rooted in horror, with no restrictions on budget, tone or rating,” with different interpretations of the classic characters’ origins and stories to appeal to a new generation of fans.
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Claude Rains famously played The Invisible Man in Universal’s 1933 feature film, in turn based on the 1897 novel by H.G. Wells. Although Rains’ Griffin did not survive the first film, the series nevertheless became a franchise at the studio. The Invisible Man Returns followed in 1940 with The Invisible Woman arriving later that same year. After that came Invisible Agent in 1942 and The Invisible Man’s Revenge in 1944. Versions of The Invisible Man would also appear in the studio’s Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein in 1948. Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man in 1951.
