Julia Garner Joins Universal and Blumhouse's Wolf Man Reboot

Julia Garner's Role in the Wolf Man Reboot

After finding a new lead for the project, Universal and Blumhouse's Wolf Man reboot have found another new star in Julia Garner. The updated take on the horror monster classic was pitched by Ryan Gosling with the Barbie star intended to lead, with The Invisible Man's Leigh Whannell attached to direct, before being swapped out with The Place Beyond the Pines' Derek Cianfrance. Gosling would later bow out as star and remain on as executive producer, with Whannell returning to direct and co-write with Corbett Ruck, Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo, with Christopher Abbott now starring.

Julia Garner's Role in the Wolf Man Reboot

Less than a month after Abbott and Whannell were confirmed for the movie, Variety has brought word that Julia Garner has joined the Wolf Man reboot cast. The Golden Globe and Emmy winner is best known for her roles in Netflix's Ozark as well as the true-story-based miniseries Inventing Anna and drama thriller The Assistant. Sources report that Garner will be playing the mother of a family being terrorized by the eponymous monster.

Ozark. (L to R) Eric Ladin as Kerry Stone, Julia Garner as Ruth Langmore in episode 404 of Ozark. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2021

The Reunion of Julia Garner and Christopher Abbott

Interestingly, Garner's casting in the Wolf Man reboot marks a reunion between the actor and Abbott, with the two having starred together in both of their major acting debuts, Martha Marcy May Marlene. Though the duo have garnered more widespread recognition for some of their more recent roles, including Abbott's Golden Globe-nominated turn in Hulu's Catch-22 adaptation, the chance for the two to work together again seems like a unique way to explore how they've grown in the years since. Martha Marcy May Marlene also served as the movie debut of Elizabeth Olsen before her acclaimed work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Wendy in the casino in Ozark.

Additionally, Garner's reported role as a mother protecting her family from the titular creature seems to point towards the Wolf Man reboot twisting its classic story in a fresh way. Both the Lon Chaney Jr.-led 1941 Universal Monsters classic and the Benicio del Toro 2010 remake revolved around a man named Larry Talbot returning to his family home following his brother's death and being attacked by a werewolf while there, ultimately becoming one himself. One of the biggest conflicts across both movies is Larry's romantic interest in local antiques shop owner, Gwen, who in the original is engaged to a man who believes Larry's claims of becoming a werewolf, while the remake made her the fiancée of Larry's late brother.

Julia Garner sits in a chair with a glass of wine in Inventing Anna

Implications of Garner's Casting for the Wolf Man Reboot

While it's unclear if Garner's character will serve as a love interest for Abbott's in the movie, the early description of her role in the Wolf Man reboot marks a promising sign of it taking a different approach to its story. By moving away from what audiences have come to expect from the werewolf movie formula, one used both for satire and sincere depiction in the classic An American Werewolf in London, Whannell and his creative team can recapture the success found in The Invisible Man reboot and tell a story deeper than an atypical monster movie.

Julia Garner flipping through pages in The Assistant