Why Christopher Abbott replaced Ryan Gosling in The Wolf Man.

Director Lee Whannell brought the classic Monsters movie to life in 2020 with a thrilling new take on The Invisible Man. Following this success, Universal Pictures and Blumhouse set about reinventing yet another monster in the form of the Wolf Man. Originally nominated for an Oscar Ryan Gosling (“Barbie”) starred in “The Wolf Man” directed by Cory Finley (“Bad Education”) flirted with the director’s chair before Derek Cianfrance (“Blue Valentine”) came on board. Along the way, things changed a lot, and ultimately Vanel sat in the director’s chair. But why did Gosling quit?

Gosling is still credited as the producer of The Wolf Man, for what it’s worth. However, it does not appear on the screen. Instead, Christopher Abbott (“Kraven the Hunter,” “The Poor”) stars as Blake, the ill-fated man-turned-werewolf. In a recent interview with CinemaBlend Timed before the film’s release, Whannell explained that the film hadn’t changed much since Abbott took over. As for why the job came up in the first place? It came down to problems with the schedule.

“It’s almost the same. It was really, you know… when I was working with Ryan, it was a similar story that you see now. It was isolation, the same characters. It’s just that so much time has passed. There have been strikes, and all of a sudden it’s changed. But I’m happy we got Christopher Abbott you could hope for.”

The 2023 SAG and WGA strikes have turned Hollywood upside down for months on end. This created many scheduling conflicts for various projects. Gosling also had a commitment to Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s sci-fi film The Hail Mary Project. which is set to hit theaters later this year. Unfortunately, this resulted in him not being able to put his stamp on this classic beast.

Vanello’s Wolf Man updates the traditional werewolf mythology for a new generation. This proved to be a bit of a bone of contention early on, thanks in large part to, shall we say, unique creature design. Would things have been different with Gosling in the title role? It’s hard to say. But in the same interview, Whannell explained that Blake’s characterization has largely remained the same, even though the actor has changed:

“It’s interesting. The core of what I’ve been working on with Ryan is what’s stayed through it all. Sure, we’d tweak it a little bit and Chris would have his ideas, but the essence was the same.”

I tried to touch on this topic Gosling during an interview for “The Fall Guy” last year. While talking to the actor and his co-star Emily Blunt, I brought up The Wolf Man, and Blunt, who starred in the big-budget 2010 film The Wolf Man, playfully interrupted the question by asking, “Why are you trying to drown my Man -wolf” with your “Wolfman?” Gosling then politely said, “Next question, please.” Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t get to the point.

Either way, it’s likely that Gosling’s interest in the project helped land it at Universal in the first place. One has to wonder if it would have worked without his attachment in the beginning. Ultimately, it became a major vehicle for Abbott, who now has the opportunity to showcase his talents in a major studio horror film.

The film also stars Julia Garner (“Ozark”) and Matlida Firth (“Hallraisers”), and the script was written by Whannell and Corbett Tuck. In addition to Gosling, the film was produced by Blumhouse head Jason Blum, and executive produced by Whannell, Beatrice Sequeira, Mel Turner and Ken Kao.

The Wolf Man is now in theaters.