Next month, director Leigh Whannell (Upgrade,Saw) and Universal Pictures in cooperation with Blumhouse Pictures will be releasing their updated version ofThe Invisible Man. The film, which is based on the classic sci-fi story fromH.G. Wells, starsElisabeth Moss,Aldis Hodge,Storm ReidandOliver Jackson-Cohen. It’s a modern and incredibly disturbing remake of the original 1933 film that starredClaude Rains.
The first trailer was released late last year and focuses on Cecelia Kass (Moss), an abused woman who is trying to move on after the supposed suicide of her violent scientist boyfriend Adrian Griffin (Jackson-Cohen). As Cecelia grapples with her doubt about Griffin’s suicide, he leaves her 5 million dollars with the eerie contingency that she not be ruled “mentally incompetent”. When strange events start to occur that reinforce her belief that he is not dead and that his abuse has gone to a new and ruthless level, she is driven to prove to her family and friends that he is still alive at all costs. Whannell is deftly tackling the real horror women experience as victims of abuse by people they know and how hard they work to be believed thru the prism of an Invisible Man abusing his powers. It’s certainly a topical and thoroughly unsettling approach that could resonate with audiences.
The Invisible Manis Universal’s latest attempt to restart their monster universe following the short-lived Dark Universe, which kicked off withThe Mummy, starring Tom Cruise. You remember those plans, right? The A-list approach with that famous picture ofRussell Crowe,Javier Bardem, Cruise,Johnny Depp, andSofia Boutellalooking damn dapper. WithThe Invisible Man, Universal has gone with a new, smaller approach where each director is handed a character or “monster” in the Dark Universe, just focuses on making a good film, not required to connect it up to a larger universe. It doesn’t mean that these characters might not end up joining forces in some way down the road, it just means that that isn’t the focus now. If DC’s successful new approach to their superhero movies after the negative reactions to the DCEU is any kind of example, this could end up working out quite well for Universal.
Late last year, I was part of a team of journalists who were invited to visit the set ofThe Invisible Manin Australia to speak with members of the cast and crew about their experiences making the film. We interviewed Hodge, Reid, Jackson-Cohen, Whannell, executive producerBeatriz Sequeria, and Production DesignerAlex Holmes. We were also surprised to speak with a game Elisabeth Moss, who doesn’t usually do these interviews while on set. While we were there, we were also treated to a scene being filmed (that shows up in the trailer) where Cecelia is staring at a bedroom chair believing that her invisible, abusive husband is sitting in it. It was just as unnerving to watch being shot as it is for those few seconds it appears in the trailer.
We’ll see how resonant and disquieting this version ofThe Invisible Man will be when itappears in theaters on July 17, 2025. In the meantime, here are 26 things we learned about the movie and how the actors approached making it to get you ready for its release.
For more, check out our coverage of themost recent trailer forThe Invisible Manandcheck out our roundup of the best horror films from the early years of cinema.
