Deadline is reporting that Oliver Jackson-Cohen (The Haunting of Hill House, Dracula, The Raven) will play the title role in The Invisible Man remake for Blumhouse and Universal.
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Jackson-Cohen, who is taking over the role from Johnny Depp who was previously signed to star in the film, has previously starred in Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House as Luke Crain, with features including The Healer, The Raven, What’s Your Number?, Faster, and Going the Distance.
Directed by Whannell (Upgrade, Insidious: Chapter 3), the movie stars Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale, Us), Storm Reid (A Wrinkle in Time, 12 Years a Slave, When They See Us), Harriet Dyer (No Activity) and Aldis Hodge (Hidden Figures, Underground, City on a Hill), The Invisible Man follows Cecilia (Moss), who receives the news of her abusive ex-boyfriend’s suicide. She begins to rebuild her life for the better. However, her sense of reality is put into question when she begins to suspect her deceased lover is not actually dead.
Originally intended to be part of the Dark Universe, the film is now being developed as a standalone project with the hiring of Upgrade and Insidious franchise creator Leigh Whannell to write and direct the project.
The upcoming remakes will be “rooted in horror, with no restrictions on budget, tone or rating,” with different interpretations of the classic characters’ origins and stories to appeal to a new generation of fans. You can purchase the original film here.
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Claude Rains famously played The Invisible Man in Universal’s 1933 feature film, in turn based on the 1897 novel by H.G. Wells. Although Rains’ Griffin did not survive the first film, the series nevertheless became a franchise at the studio. The Invisible Man Returns followed in 1940 with The Invisible Woman arriving later that same year. After that came Invisible Agent in 1942 and The Invisible Man’s Revenge in 1944. Versions of The Invisible Man would also appear in the studio’s Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein in 1948. Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man in 1951.
The movie is scheduled to release in theaters on March 13, 2020.
(Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for dunhill)
