Actor, writer and director Leigh Whannell, a few months after his debut as Specs in the ‘Insidious’ franchise, Hollywood, California, September 2010
Leigh Whannell, the Australian actor known for playing Specs in horror franchise “Insidious,” is taking on H. G. Wells’ “The Invisible Man” for his third directed feature.
Universal Pictures is taking another step in its Monsters Universe stable of stories, according to Variety.
“The Mummy” might not have worked out as a classic monster twist on blockbuster action, taking US$410 million but still not thought to have recouped its costs and facing a generally negative reception, reaping an unenviable eight Razzie nominations.
Instead, “The Invisible Man” is being laid out as a horror, with Leigh Whannell — co-creator of the “Insidious” and “Saw” franchises — putting it on his slate after steering grisly cybernetic thriller “Upgrade.”
“Upcoming titles for Universal’s new monster strategy will be rooted in horror,” reports Variety, “with no restrictions on budget, tone, or rating, and no expectation that they will exist as part of a shared universe.”
“An insider close to the process said freeing up the characters’ origins and stories to different interpretations will help them appeal to modern audiences.”
Therefore it’s not clear whether “The Mummy” headliners Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem, and Russell Crowe will be involved. Their movie had been set up as the foundation for a connected universe of stories but Universal went back to the drawing board.
Sony Pictures already has something similar in the pipeline, forking its “X-Men” brand to produce August 2019’s “The New Mutants,” which frames the origin stories of five young mutant superheroes primarily as a horror story rather than an all-out action movie.
Blumhouse Productions of the “Insidious,” “Purge,” and “Paranormal Activity” franchises, is partnering with Universal for “The Invisible Man,” having seen enormous success at the box office with M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Visit,” “Split,” and “Glass,” so it knows a thing or two about successful comebacks.