The Wolf Man (franchise)

The Wolf Man
Directed by	George Waggner (1) Roy William Neill (2) Erle C. Kenton (3–4) Charles Barton (5) Joe Johnston (2010) Leigh Whannell (2025)
Written by	Curt Siodmak (1–2) Edward T. Lowe (3–4) Robert Lees (5) Frederic I. Rinaldo (5) Gertrude Purcell (5) Andrew Kevin Walker (2010) David Self (2010) Leigh Whannell (2025) Corbett Tuck (2025)
Produced by	George Waggner (1–2) Paul Malvern (3–4) Robert Arthur (5) Scott Stuber (2010) Benicio del Toro (2010) Rick Yorn (2010) Sean Daniel (2010) Jason Blum (2025)
Starring	Lon Chaney Jr. (1–5) Benicio del Toro (2010) Christopher Abbott (2025)
Edited by	Ted J. Kent (1) Edward Curtiss (2) Philip Cahn (3) Russell F. Schoengarth (4) Frank Gross (5) Dennis Virkler (2010) Walter Murch (2010) Mark Goldblatt (2010) Andy Canny (2025)
Music by	Hans J. Salter (1–3) Frank Skinner (1 and 5) Charles Previn (1) Paul Dessau (3) William Lava (4) Danny Elfman (2010) Benjamin Wallfisch (2025)
Production companies	Universal Pictures (1–5) Relativity Media (2010) Stuber Pictures (2010) Blumhouse Productions (2025) Clock & Co. (2025)
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Country	United States
Language	English

The Wolf Man is a horror film series centered on Larry Talbot, a man who upon being bitten by a werewolf becomes one himself, and his subsequent attempts to cure himself of his murderous condition. The film series was created by Curt Siodmak.

Feature films

Number	Title	Release date	Director	Continuity
1	The Wolf Man	December 12, 1941	George Waggner	Universal Classic Monsters
2	Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man	March 5, 1943	Roy William Neill
3	House of Frankenstein	December 15, 1944	Erle C. Kenton
4	House of Dracula	December 7, 1945
5	Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein	June 15, 1948	Charles Barton
A	Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman	August 29, 2000	Kathi Castillo	Stand-alone films
6	Van Helsing	May 7, 2004	Stephen Sommers
B	House of the Wolf Man	October 1, 2009	Eben McGarr
7	The Wolfman	January 27, 2010	Joe Johnston	Remake
8	Wolf Man	January 17, 2025	Leigh Whannell	Reboot

Universal Monsters film series (1941–1948)

Lon Chaney Jr. as The Wolf Man (1941)

The original series of films consisted of five installments, all of which starred iconic horror actor Lon Chaney Jr. as Larry Talbot. The series of films is part of the larger Universal Classic Monsters series.

Year	Film	The Wolf Man actor
1941	The Wolf Man	Lon Chaney Jr.
1943	Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
1944	House of Frankenstein
1945	House of Dracula
1948	Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein

• The Wolf Man (1941)
  When his brother dies, Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) returns to Wales and reconciles with his father (Claude Rains). While there, he visits an antique shop and, hoping to impress Gwen (Evelyn Ankers), the attractive shopkeeper, buys a silver walking cane. That same night he kills a wolf with it, only to later learn that he actually killed a man (Bela Lugosi). A gypsy (Maria Ouspenskaya) explains that it was her son, a werewolf, that he killed, and that Larry is now one himself.
• Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943)
  Lawrence Stewart Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) is plagued by a physical oddity that turns him into a crazed werewolf after sundown. His desire to rid himself of this ailment leads him to the castle owned by mad scientist Dr. Frankenstein. Frankenstein, it turns out, is now dead, yet Talbot believes that the scientist's daughter, Baroness Elsa Frankenstein (Ilona Massey), can help him. However, his quest to right himself puts him on a collision course with Frankenstein's monster (Bela Lugosi).
• House of Frankenstein (1944)
  After escaping from prison, the evil Dr. Niemann (Boris Karloff) and his hunchbacked assistant, Daniel (J. Carrol Naish), plot their revenge against those who imprisoned them. For this, they recruit the powerful Wolf Man (Lon Chaney Jr.), Frankenstein's monster (Glenn Strange) and even Dracula himself (John Carradine). Niemann pursues those who wrong him, sending each monster out to do his dirty work. But his control on the monsters is weak at best and may prove to be his downfall.
• House of Dracula (1945)
  This monster movie focuses on the iconic vampire, Count Dracula (John Carradine), and Lawrence Talbot (Lon Chaney), better known as the Wolf Man. Both beings of the night are tired of their supernatural afflictions, so they seek out Dr. Franz Edelmann (Onslow Stevens) for cures for their respective curses. While trying to aid the imposing creatures, Edelmann himself develops a transformative condition, adding to the many ghouls lurking around the foreboding landscape.
• Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
  In the first of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello's horror vehicles for Universal Pictures, the inimitable comic duo star as railway baggage handlers in northern Florida. When a pair of crates belonging to a house of horrors museum are mishandled by Wilbur (Lou Costello), the museum's director, Mr. MacDougal (Frank Ferguson), demands that they deliver them personally so that they can be inspected for insurance purposes, but Lou's friend Chick (Bud Abbott) has grave suspicions, after receiving a phone call from Lawrence Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) warning him of their contents (Bela Lugosi and Glenn Strange).

Remake and reboot (2010–present)

In March 2006, Universal Pictures announced the remake of The Wolf Man with Puerto Rican actor Benicio del Toro, a huge fan of the original and collector of Wolf Man memorabilia, in the lead role, who was "cast for his resemblance to Lon Chaney Jr., with his clouded, thick features and his air of suffering". Lawrence is depicted as an "Anglo-Indian, which explains his complexion, and the film notes that he was educated in America, to explain his accent". ^{[1] [2] [3]} Screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker was attached to the screenplay, developing the original film's story to include additional characters as well as plot points that would take advantage of modern visual effects. ^[4] Del Toro also looked towards Werewolf of London and The Curse of the Werewolf for inspiration. ^[5]

In February 2007, director Mark Romanek was attached to helm The Wolfman. ^[4] Romanek's original vision was to "infuse a balance of cinema in a popcorn movie scenario": "When there’s a certain amount of money involved, these things make studios and producers a little nervous. They don’t necessarily understand it or they feel that the balance will swing too far to something esoteric, and we could never come to an agreement on the right balance for that type of thing. Ultimately it made more sense for them to find a director that was gonna fulfill their idea of the film that they wanted, and we just sort of parted ways". ^[6] In January 2008, Romanek left the project because of creative differences. ^[7] Brett Ratner emerged as a frontrunner to replace Romanek, but the studio also met with Frank Darabont, James Mangold and Joe Johnston. They were also interested in Bill Condon, and Martin Campbell was interested. ^[8] Johnston was hired to direct on in February, and the film's shooting schedule and budget remained as intended. ^[9] Johnston hired David Self to rewrite the script. ^[10]

Following the financial and critical disappointment of the 2010 remake, Universal Pictures announced its plan to reboot the Universal Classic Monsters in July 2014 as part of a shared universe known as the Dark Universe. ^{[11] [12]} In November 2014, Aaron Guzikowski was confirmed to be writing the reboot of Universal's The Wolf Man (1941). ^{[13] [14]} In June 2016, Deadline Hollywood reported on rumors that Universal wanted to cast Dwayne Johnson in the title role. ^[15] By October, development on the film began moving forward, and David Callaham was hired to rewrite the screenplay. ^[16] In 2017, The Mummy was released as the first film in the Dark Universe; its launch was both a critical and commercial failure, and resulted in Universal deciding to shift its focus on individual storytelling and move away from the shared universe concept with the cancelation of The Wolf Man and other films in development. ^[17]

Following the success of Leigh Whannell's The Invisible Man in 2020, Universal Pictures "scrap[ped] the universe concept" and loosened restrictions for the talent in front and behind the camera, allowing them to decide how they wanted to execute their films and inviting "big name talent" to pitch their ideas. ^[18] By early 2020, Universal had been hearing project ideas for a year and a half from a variety of filmmakers seeking to develop other characters in the franchise. This included Ryan Gosling's pitch to remake The Wolf Man, in the vein of Nightcrawler , with Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo writing the screenplay. Several filmmakers were considered to direct, including Cory Finley and Whannell, who initially demurred and was advised by producer Jason Blum to reconsider. In July, Whannell entered negotiations to both write a film treatment and direct. ^[19] Derek Cianfrance briefly took over directing and writing responsibilities in October 2021, before both Gosling and Cianfrance were reported to have exited the project in December 2023. Whannell returned to direct, along with writing the screenplay alongside Corbett Tuck, Schuker Blum, and Angelo. Christopher Abbott was also announced to be replacing Gosling in the lead role. ^[20]

• The Wolfman (2010)
  Though absent from his ancestral home of Blackmoor for many years, aristocrat Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro) returns to find his missing brother at the request of the latter's fiancée, Gwen (Emily Blunt). He learns that a creature has links to an ancient curse turning people into werewolves when the moon is full. To save the village and protect Gwen, he must slay the bloodthirsty beast, but he contends with a horrifying family legacy.
• Wolf Man (2025)
  A man seeks to protect himself and his family from a dangerous werewolf at night during a full moon.

Cast and characters

List indicator(s)

• A dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film.
• A ^P indicates the character was shown in a photograph and/or mentioned.
• A ^U indicates a uncredited role.
• A ^V indicates a voice-only role.
• A ^C indicates a cameo appearance.
• A ^L indicates an appearance wherein an actor's facial features were digitally imprinted upon another actor's face.
• A ^Y indicates an appearance as a younger version of a pre-existing character.
• An ^A indicates an appearance through archival footage, audio or stills.

Character	Universal Classic Monsters					Stand-alone films			Remake	Reboot
	The Wolf Man	Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man	House of Frankenstein	House of Dracula	Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein	Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman	Van Helsing	House of the Wolf Man	The Wolfman	Wolf Man
	1941	1943	1944	1945	1948	2000	2004	2009	2010	2025
Monsters
Lawrence Stewart Talbot Larry, The Wolf Man Velkan Valerious Blake Lovell	Lon Chaney Jr.					Maurice LaMarche Frank Welker V	Will Kemp	Billy Bussey	Benicio del Toro Mario Marin-Borquez Y	Christopher Abbott Zac Chandler Y
Frankenstein's Monster		Bela Lugosi Eddie Parker & Gil Perkins	Glenn Strange		Glenn Strange Lon Chaney Jr.	Mentioned	Shuler Hensley	Craig Dabbs
Count Vladislaus Dracula			John Carradine		Bela Lugosi		Richard Roxburgh	Michael R. Thomas
The Hunchback Daniel / Nina / Igor / Barlow			J. Carrol Naish	Jane "Poni" Adams			Kevin J. O'Connor	John McGarr
Dr. Bela Reinhardt The WereWolf	Bela Lugosi							Ron Chaney	Rick Baker
Sir John Talbot The Wolf Man	Claude Rains								Anthony Hopkins
Dr. Franz ec "Franz" Edelmann		Don Barclay		Onslow Stevens
Sir Geoffrey Radcliffe The Invisible Man					Vincent Price U V C
Theodore Seville The WereWolf						Janice Karman Frank Welker V
Gabriel Van Helsing							Hugh Jackman
Verona The First Bride of Dracula							Silvia Colloca
Aleera The Second Bride of Dracula							Elena Anaya
Marishka The Third Bride of Dracula							Josie Maran
Recurring Supporting Characters
Madame Maleva Raya The Gypsy Fortune Teller	Maria Ouspenskaya					April Winchell			Geraldine Chaplin
Frank Andrews Dr. Mannering Inspector Francis Aberline	Patric Knowles								Hugo Weaving
Dr. Lloyd	Warren William								Michael Cronin
Colonel Paul Montford	Ralph Bellamy								Nicholas Day
Gwen Conliffe	Evelyn Ankers								Emily Blunt
Mayor Inspector Arnz Police Inspector Holtz		Lionel Atwill
Other Characters
Charles Conliffe	J. M. Kerrigan
Jenny Williams	Fay Helm
Twiddle	Forrester Harvey
Baroness Elsa Frankenstein		Ilona Massey
Inspector Owen		Dennis Hoey
Vazec		Rex Evans
Rudi		Dwight Frye
Guno		Harry Stubbs
Dr. Mannering's Nurse		Doris Lloyd
Dr. Gustav Niemann			Boris Karloff
Ilonka			Elena Verdugo
Rita Hussman			Anne Gwynne
Karl Hussman			Peter Coe
Bürgermeister Hussman			Sig Ruman
Bruno Lampini			George Zucco
Fejos			William Edmunds
Tobermann			Charles F. Miller
Müller			Philip Van Zandt
Hertz			Julius Tannen
Meier			Hans Herbert
Born			Dick Dickinson
Strauss			Michael Mark
Milizia Morelle				Martha O'Driscoll
Ziegfried				Ludwig Stössel
Steinmuhl				Skelton Knaggs
Villager				Harry Lamont U
Chick Young					Bud Abbott
Wilbur Grey					Lou Costello
Dr. Sandra Mornay					Lenore Aubert
Joan Raymond					Jane Randolph
Mr. McDougal					Frank Ferguson
Professor Stevens					Charles Bradstreet
Simon Seville						Ross Bagdasarian Jr.
Alvin Seville
Principal Milliken						Miriam Flynn
Mr. Rochelle						Rob Paulsen
Nathan						Elizabeth Daily
Anna Valerious							Kate Beckinsale
Carl							David Wenham
Cardinal Jinette							Alun Armstrong
Top Hat The Grave Digger							Tom Fisher
Dr. Victor Frankenstein							Samuel West
Reed Chapel								Dustin Fitzsimons
Conrad Sullivan								Jeremie Loncka
Mary Chapel								Sara Raftery
Elmira Cray								Cheryl Rodes
Archibald Whitlock								Jim Thalman
Vadoma								Saba Moor-Doucette
Singh									Art Malik
Dr. Hoenneger									Antony Sher
Constable Nye									David Schofield
Kirk									David Sterne
Ben Talbot									Simon Merrells Asa Butterfield Y
Solona Talbot									Cristina Contes
MacQueen									Clive Russell
Official Arm Thrower									Dave Tamarro
Reverend Fisk									Roger Frost
Elderly Man									Max von Sydow C
Charlotte Lovell										Julia Garner
Ginger Lovell										Matilda Firth
Grady Lovell The Wolf Man										Sam Jaeger Ben Prendergast
Derek Kiel										Benedict Hardie
Dan Kiel										Leigh Whannell V

Crew

Crew/detail	Universal Classic Monsters					Stand-alone films			Remake	Reboot
	The Wolf Man	Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man	House of Frankenstein	House of Dracula	Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein	Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman	Van Helsing	House of the Wolf Man	The Wolfman	Wolf Man
	1941	1943	1944	1945	1948	2000	2004	2009	2010	2025
Director(s)	George Waggner	Roy William Neill	Erle C. Kenton		Charles Barton	Kathi Castillo	Stephen Sommers	Eben McGarr	Joe Johnston	Leigh Whannell
Producer(s)	George Waggner		Paul Malvern		Robert Arthur		Stephen Sommers Bob Ducsay	Eden and John P. McGarr Roland R. Rosenberg Jr. David & Larry Sontag	Scott Stuber Benicio del Toro Rick Yorn & Sean Daniel	Jason Blum
Writer(s)	Curt Siodmak		Edward T. Lowe		Robert Lees, Frederic I. Rinaldo & Gertrude Purcell	John Loy	Stephen Sommers	Eben McGarr	Andrew Kevin Walker and David Self	Leigh Whannell, Corbett Tuck, Lauren Schuker Blum, and Rebecca Angelo
Composer(s)	Charles Previn, Hans J. Salter and Frank Skinner (uncredited)	Hans J. Salter	Hans J. Salter and Paul Dessau	William Lava	Frank Skinner	Mark Watters	Alan Silvestri	Nate Scott	Danny Elfman	Benjamin Wallfisch
Editor(s)	Ted J. Kent	Edward Curtiss	Philip Cahn	Russell F. Schoengarth	Frank Gross	Jay Bisxen	Bob Ducsay & Kelly Matsumoto	Cyrus Navarro	Dennis Virkler, Walter Murch and Mark Goldblatt	Andy Canny
Cinematographer	Joseph Valentine, ASC	George Robinson			Charles Van Enger	—	Allen Daviau	Royce A. Dudley	Shelly Johnson	Stefan Duscio
Production companies	Universal Pictures					Bagdasarian Productions Universal Cartoon Studios Tama Productions	Sommers Company Stillking Films	My Way Pictures	Relativity Media Stuber Pictures	Blumhouse ProductionsMotel Movies
Distributor(s)						Universal Studios Home Video	Universal Pictures	Taurus Entertainment Company	Universal Pictures
Runtime	70 minutes	75 minutes	71 minutes	67 minutes	83 minutes	77 minutes	131 minutes	75 minutes	103 minutes	103 minutes
Release date	December 12, 1941	March 5, 1943	December 15, 1944	December 7, 1945	June 15, 1948	August 29, 2000	May 7, 2004	October 1, 2009	January 27, 2010	January 17, 2025

Reception

Film	Rotten Tomatoes	Metacritic
The Wolf Man	94% (35 reviews) [21]	72 (8 reviews) [22]
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man	25% (12 reviews) [23]	—
House of Frankenstein	55% (11 reviews) [24]	—
House of Dracula	56% (9 reviews) [25]	—
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein	89% (27 reviews) [26]	—
Van Helsing	24% (226 reviews) [27]	35 (38 reviews) [28]
The Wolfman	34% (217 reviews) [29]	43 (36 reviews) [30]

Sequel novel series

• In Jeff Rovin's 1998 novel Return of the Wolf Man it is revealed Talbot and Dracula had survived the fall they took at the end of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein . Talbot subsequently kills Charles Stevens and, upon reverting to human form, has Joan Raymond kill him and perform a specific burial so Talbot could never be revived. Talbot is inadvertently revived and befriends Raymond's niece Caroline Cooke, and Talbot turns his attention from being killed once and for all to stopping the also returning Dracula and Frankenstein's monster. In the end, Talbot, in his werewolf form, kills Dracula only to be beaten to death by Caroline with a silver candelabrum.
• In Frank Dello Stritto's 2017 novel A Werewolf Remembers – The Testament of Lawrence Stewart Talbot, Talbot's diaries are discovered in a storage room in La Mirada, Florida (where Talbot was last seen in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein ). In the diaries, Talbot tells of his youth, his years of exile in America, the adventures recounted in his Universal films, and the return of his curse after his cure by Dr. Edelmann (in House of Dracula ).

See also

• Universal Classic Monsters
  • Dracula (Universal film series)
  • Frankenstein (Universal film series)
  • The Invisible Man (film series)
  • The Mummy (franchise)

References

1. "Exclusive: Producer Talks Wolfman". Empire Online . 2008-03-21. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
2. "Del Toro bites into 'Wolf Man'". Variety . 2006-03-14. Retrieved 2008-03-21.
3. von Busack, Richard (February 11, 2010). "The Wolfman". Movie Times. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
4. Borys Kit (2007-02-08). "Romanek stalks Del Toro 'Wolfman'". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on 2007-02-10. Retrieved 2007-02-08.
5. Rodrigo Perez. "Benicio Del Toro goes old school for 'Wolf Man,' declares no monster cameos". Archived from the original on July 13, 2019. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
6. Chitwood, Adam (May 7, 2013). "Director Mark Romanek Talks One Hour Photo Blu-ray, His Vision for The Wolfman, Cinderella, His Desire to Work on a Larger Canvas, and More". Collider. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
7. Michael Fleming (2008-01-29). "Romanek drops out of 'Wolf Man'". Variety . Retrieved 2008-01-30.
8. Borys Kit (2008-02-01). "Ratner among 'Wolf' men". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on 2013-01-26. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
9. Michael Fleming (2008-02-04). "Johnston to direct 'Wolfman'". Variety . Retrieved 2008-02-04.
10. Diane Garrett (2008-02-21). "Hugo Weaving to pursue 'Wolfman'". Variety . Retrieved 2008-02-22.
11. Hoberman, J. (October 24, 2014). "Invasion of the Horror Franchises" . The New York Times . Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
12. Fleming, Mike Jr. (July 16, 2014). "Universal Taps Alex Kurtzman, Chris Morgan To Relaunch Classic Movie Monster Franchises". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
13. Fleming, Mike Jr. (November 12, 2014). "Will Justin Lin Rev Fast & Furious Finale?". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
14. Fleming, Mike Jr. (November 12, 2014). "Sony Confirms Dark Matter; Universal Confirms Aaron Guzikowski To Write Wolfman". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on October 26, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
15. Fleming, Mike Jr. (June 22, 2016). "Dwayne Johnson Sets Jay Longino Graphic Novel Son Of Shaolin At Sony". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
16. Ford, Rebecca (October 13, 2016). "Universal Taps The Expendables Writer to Pen The Wolf Man (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
17. Kit, Borys; Couch, Aaron (November 8, 2017). "Universal's Monsterverse in Peril as Top Producers Exit (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
18. Kroll, Justin (May 29, 2020). "Ryan Gosling's Wolfman Gears Up at Universal as Director Decision Nears (Exclusive)". Variety . Archived from the original on October 26, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
19. Fleming, Mike Jr. (July 8, 2021). "Ryan Gosling's Wolfman Howling At Universal As Director Leigh Whannell & Blumhouse Join The Pack". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on October 26, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
20. Kit, Borys (December 13, 2023). "Christopher Abbott Replacing Ryan Gosling to Star in Wolf Man for Blumhouse, Universal (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on December 13, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
21. "The Wolf Man (1941)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media. 12 December 1941. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
22. "The Wolf Man (1941) Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on April 7, 2020.
23. "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media. 5 March 1943. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
24. "House of Frankenstein (1944)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media. December 1944. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
25. "House of Dracula (1945)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media. 22 December 1945. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
26. "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media. 15 June 1948. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
27. "Van Helsing (2004)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved March 28, 2020.
28. "Van Helsing (2004) Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on November 5, 2019.
29. "The Wolfman (2010)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved March 28, 2020.
30. "The Wolfman (2010) Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on December 28, 2018.