Why Christopher Abbott Replaced Ryan Gosling In Wolf Man

Director Leigh Whannell gave the classic Universal Monsters a shot of modern life in 2020 with his thrilling new take on "The Invisible Man." In the aftermath of that success, Universal Pictures and Blumhouse set about reinventing another monster in the form of the Wolfman. Originally, Oscar-nominee Ryan Gosling ("Barbie") was set to star in "Wolf Man" that had director Cory Finley ("Bad Education") flirting with the director's chair before Derek Cianfrance ("Blue Valentine") came on board. Things changed a lot along the way, with Whannell ultimately settling into the director's chair. But why did Gosling drop out?

Gosling is still credited on "Wolf Man" as a producer, for what it's worth. Yet, he doesn't appear on screen. Instead, Christopher Abbott ("Kraven the Hunter," "Poor Things") stars as Blake, the ill-fated man who becomes a werewolf. In a recent interview with CinemaBlend timed to the film's release, Whannell explained that the film didn't change a lot once Abbott took over. As for why there was a vacancy to fill in the first place? It came down to scheduling issues.

"It's pretty much the same thing. It was really, you know ... when I was working with Ryan, it was the similar story that you see now. It was the isolation, the same characters. It's just that so much time went by, there was these strikes and all this stuff happened. All of a sudden Ryan's schedule changed. But I'm happy we got Christopher Abbott. He is so great in the role. I think he brought this to life better than I could have hoped for."

2023's SAG and WGA strikes upended Hollywood for months on end. It created lots of scheduling conflicts for various projects. Gosling also had commitments on Phil Lord and Chris Miller's sci-fi film "Project Hail Mary," which is due to hit theaters later this year. Unfortunately, that made it so he couldn't put his stamp on this classic beast.

Whannell's "Wolf Man" updates the traditional werewolf mythology for a new generation. That has proved to be a little divisive in the early going, in no small part thanks to the, shall we say, unique creature design. Would things have been different with Gosling in the lead role? That's tough to say. But in the same interview, Whannell explained that the characterization of Blake largely stayed the same, even though the actor changed:

"It's interesting. The core of what I was working on with Ryan is what stayed throughout the whole thing. Of course we would tweak it a little bit, and Chris had his own ideas, but the core of it was the same."

I attempted to broach this topic with Gosling during an interview for "The Fall Guy" last year. While chatting with the actor and his co-star Emily Blunt, I brought up "Wolf Man" and Blunt, having starred in 2010's big-budget flop "The Wolfman," playfully derailed the question by asking, "Why are you trying to sink my 'Wolfman' with your 'Wolf Man?'" Gosling then politely said, "Next question, please." Despite my best efforts, I couldn't get to the bottom of it.

In any event, it's likely that Gosling's interest in the project helped get it going at Universal in the first place. Whether or not it would have gotten made without him attached in the beginning is worth considering. In the end, it became a starring vehicle for Abbott, who now has the opportunity to showcase his talents in a big studio horror film.

The film also stars Julia Garner ("Ozark") and Matlida Firth ("Hullraisers"), with a script by Whannell and Corbett Tuck. Aside from Gosling, Blumhouse head Jason Blum produced the film, with Whannell, Beatriz Sequeira, Mel Turner, and Ken Kao serving as executive producers.

"Wolf Man" is in theaters now.