Horror fans keeping a close eye on Universal Pictures’ The Wolfman know that the remake, starring Benicio Del Toro, has been delayed so many times it’s becoming uncomfortable. Typical delays of such length are the result of problems behind-the-scenes, or just a cluttered release schedule. According to a new interview with producer Scott Stuber, it’s neither. Beyond the break you can read about the difficulties in keeping the film practical and how the FX have taken a toll on post-production.
“The visual effects work was so complex that some of the stuff wasn’t ready,” Stuber told Total Film Magazine in response to the delays. “There were so many textures we had to create, like landscapes of London and all the elements within the London sequence; they just weren’t where they needed to be.”

Early reports indicate that the film is CG-heavy, Stuber explains.

“It was never our intention for this to be a CGI-fest. Our whole thing was to honor Lon Chaney Jr and the spirit of the original. It’s an authentic, make-up-driven film, but there are transitional pieces that we needed to do in CG, so you didn’t have to cut away during the change in the monster. Integrating the make-up and the effects to make them feel like one cohesive whole was always going to be a challenge and it’s something we’ve had to work through.”

As for the reshoots, Stuber explains that they needed some new exposition between Del Toro and Emily Blunt.

“We needed one more piece between Benicio (Del Toro) and Emily (Blunt). We added a new scene during the post-bite, pre-transformation sequence when he’s starting to realize something’s wrong. It’s a big quality piece of entertainment. It’s beautiful, rich, gothic, tragic – it’s everything you hope it would be.”

THE WOLFMAN arrives in theaters finally — and I do mean finally — on February 12th, 2010.