A month or so ago, we first heard words that Ryan Gosling was to star in Universal’s new spin on The Wolfman, and now comes another hugely intriguing update on that project.

Via Deadline, Leigh Whannell is now in talks to direct the picture. Major genre favourite Whannell, of course, most recently helmed Universal and Blumhouse’s stunning The Invisible Man.

In addition, to The Invisible Man, Whannell’s other directing credits are Upgrade and Insidious: Chapter 3, with the ridiculously talented Australian having created the Saw and Insidious franchises with pal James Wan.

When we caught up with Whannell earlier this year to discuss The Invisible Man, we posed him with the question about whether he’d have any interest in tacking any of the other famed characters in the Universal vault.

Most interestingly, Leigh explained how he would never do a project purely based on the status of it or the name value associated with it, adding how it’s all about finding an idea that would keep him up at night. “It would have to be something that excited me that much for me to do it,” he explained, “I certainly wouldn’t direct something just because it made business sense.”

Knowing that, it’s even more encouraging to hear that Whannell is in the frame for The Wolfman – for it would indicate that there’s a really good nugget of an idea at the core of this project.

If you ask us, there really isn’t a better choice to direct a new take on The Wolfman than Leigh Whannell – and given how Jason Blum himself has acknowledged this story on social media, it looks extremely hopeful that Whannell ends up in the director’s chair for The Wolfman.

Buckle Up https://t.co/krrxfqpb8k

— Jason Blum (@jason_blum) July 8, 2020

The original version of the IP saw Lon Chaney Jr. star in The Wolf Man back in 1941. Since then, there have been so many various incarnations of the character and his world, most recently with Benicio del Toro starring in 2010’s The Wolfman.

As ever, expect more on Gosling’s Wolfman as it continues to develop.