Yesterday, Variety revealed that actress Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men, Us, The Handmaid’s Tale) was in early talks to take a lead role in Universal’s Invisible Man that will be tackled by Blumhouse and writer-director Leigh Whannell (Upgrade). The film, of course, is based on the classic novel by H.G. Wells and the original 1933 film.
While researching a new drug, Dr. Jack Griffin (Claude Rains) stumbles on a potion that can make him invisible. When he reveals his new ability to his old mentor (Henry Travers) and his fiancée (Gloria Stuart), it’s clear that a side effect of the potion is insanity. Jack goes on a violent rampage, and the police struggle to hunt him down, unable to see their target, while his mentor and his former partner (William Harrigan) desperately try to devise a plan to capture him.
ProductionWeekly suggests that filming on The Invisible Man could begin as soon as this July, although they don’t mention a filming location or a start/wrap dates.
Elisabeth Moss in negotiations to star in Blumhouse’s THE INVISIBLE MAN, currently scheduled to begin filming in July. Moss wraps the third season of THE HANDMAID’S TALE on May 14th…more at https://t.co/hPqNyEDRAu pic.twitter.com/wQqegr4KeE
— Production Weekly (@prodweek) March 1, 2019
This new incarnation will reportedly exclude Johnny Depp, who had been originally cast in the titular role.
Universal has asked Blumhouse to help with Invisible Man after Dracula Untold and The Mummy failed to make an impact with audiences, that they have scaled-back previous plans concerning their Dark Universe that would be a cinematic universe feature their classic Universal Monsters. Van Helsing, Creature From The Black Lagoon, Wolf Man and Bride of Frankenstein movies were in various stages of development before The Mummy seemed to pump the breaks on them.
If the film begins filming this summer there is a good chance that Universal could give the film a release in 2020, when in 2020 would likely depend on how much visual effects work is expected for the film.
SOURCE: PRODUCTION WEEKLY
