Ryan Gosling's Wolfman Absence: A Director's Candid Account of Hollywood Chaos!
The Wolfman's Long and Winding Road: Ryan Gosling's Exit and the Movie's Survival
Leigh Whannell, the director behind the upcoming Wolfman reboot (and mastermind behind The Invisible Man), spills the tea on the film's bumpy ride to the big screen. And that includes why mega-star Ryan Gosling is no longer attached. It involved delays, a pandemic, a writer's strike; and seriously challenging production difficulties that completely threw that production off-track in unexpected and very difficult ways, showing how some unexpected issues could drastically affect any film production, sometimes forcing even those really high-profile stars like Gosling himself, out of roles and productions that they may have truly wished to be part of.
Whannell, talking to Screen Rant at New York Comic-Con, shared some juicy details, detailing the original concept—developed alongside his wife Corbett Tuck (who co-wrote the script). They had Gosling on board initially. But then everything went sideways. The initial creative intent was that Gosling would take on that leading role of the modern adaptation, but delays related to the pandemic and that recent massive Hollywood strike impacted and prevented Gosling from continuing on that specific project for multiple, unpredictable reasons that demonstrate just how seriously challenged those projects with high-profile actors sometimes really become, despite the overall hype surrounding the project’s initial creative intent. Everything completely stalled. It all finally came together when Universal finally gave the green light when things calmed down – leaving Gosling to depart the project even after being associated with the concept itself.
Whannell's Words: Pandemic Delays, Strikes, and the "Crazy" Path to Production
This is what Whannell shared: "Yeah, it was an interesting project. It came to me right after Invisible Man. They said, "Do you want to do Wolfman?" And at first I was like, "I'm not sure, I just did Invisible Man." And then I came up with an idea that I thought, "Oh, this version of the Wolf Man I would like." And then I asked Corbett, my wife, we co-wrote it — she's over there on her phone. I was like, "Let's co-write something together." It went through this long gestation period where I was working on it for a while with Ryan Gosling, and then he had to step off. And it was during COVID, so everything was crazy. And then, just as we started getting it going again, the strikes happened. I felt like there's a constant barrage of problems. Finally, when the strikes were ending, we got the green light from Universal."
He then makes an interesting contrast between that original fast-paced development surrounding the initial Saw production—it shows the differences between production speed: "I remember, God, after finishing that first Saw movie, the producers were like, the Monday after it was released — it came out on Friday and then on Monday — they called and they said, "We want a movie out next October, start writing." And that was the opposite problem. That was me going, "So when do you need the script by?" And they were like, "Three weeks from now." I can tell you there is something nice about rolling downhill at 100 miles an hour going, "We just have to hang on." Because all that momentum has its own excitement. With something like Wolfman, where it seems to be taking forever, it can kill your creative spirit. But I'm glad I had time to think about it for a long time before I shot it, because when we shot it, I found that there were so many moving parts, with make-up and a child, and we're shooting at night, and we're in New Zealand in a forest. If I hadn't have thought about it for so long, I might have lost my mind. I always had that to fall back on, like, "All right, I know what I'm doing here."
Gosling's Absence: A Loss, but Not a Total Disaster
For those expecting Gosling to be the new Wolfman—that’s a huge loss! He’d been attached since roughly 2020, and was even involved in initial pitching! Considering the excitement surrounding his amazing year in 2023—with Barbie and The Fall Guy—it could feel extremely underwhelming! He's simply huge. However, he retained an executive producer credit; Derek Cianfrance (a frequent Gosling collaborator) also has a writing credit! And Whannell made it clear they refined the script which showcases that those ideas initially pitched had their contribution within this later adaptation.
So, some elements of his influence should totally appear. While many are surprised or sad by his final departure, this should reassure fans. It's going to contain several contributions still attributable to Gosling himself. That makes some potential impact; and fans of his should totally still want this movie and be expecting amazing creative contributions still clearly influenced by Gosling himself. That creative contribution shouldn’t ever be totally underestimated.
Conclusion: The Wolfman Rises (Without Gosling, But With High Hopes)
Ryan Gosling's exit is undeniably sad for fans, and we all miss a potential glimpse of this mega-star’s foray into a genre previously uncharted by the actor. However, those who enjoyed Whannell's Invisible Man reboot need not despair, this new production remains extremely impressive even without Gosling involved as the main actor in the storyline. This new film will have elements derived from Gosling’s influence! This creates another perspective and a great example showcasing how unexpected production challenges are a part of every single film development process. It should still generate a ton of excitement for audiences; showing a possible creative shift and unexpected results possible after major setbacks!
