Movies
Benicio Del Toro Talks ‘Wolfman’ Inspirations
With Universal Pictures’ The Wolfman on its way to theaters next year (now in November, yikes!), one question that we’ve all been debating is whether or not other monsters would cameo in the Joe Johnston directed remake. In a new interview with star Benicio Del Toro, all is cleared up, while he also speaks a bit about his inspirations for the film, which is set in Victorian England where Del Toro will play a man who returns from America to his ancestral homeland, gets bitten by a werewolf and begins a hairy moonlight existence.
MTV caught up with Benicio Del Toro, who chatted about his research for Universal’s remake of THE WOLFMAN.
“[When I did my research], I definitely looked at what Lon Chaney Jr. did in the original `Wolf Man’ and the movie,” Del Toro told MTV News. “I also looked at the `Werewolf of London,’ the Henry Hull movie, which was made maybe 6 years before in 1935, and looked `Curse of the Werewolf’ with Oliver Reed.”
Del Toro reveals that while he looked to the past for inspiration, there are still some subtle changes.
“Anthony Hopkins’ role was [originally] played by Claude Rains and the relationship between Rains and Lon Chaney Jr was a good father and son [relationship]. In [our version], its definitely fractured, I’m like the prodigal son, I’ve been gone, he sent me away when I was a child and I haven’t seen him in twenty six years and I can home again to visit my brother who’s missing, but I [also play an] actor too which is also different.”
Don’t expect other monsters like Dracula, Frankenstein or the Mummy to walk into the frame either — but could that happen in a sequel?
“You mean, the guy named Dracula waiting in the taxi outside?,” Del Toro cracked? “No, there’s no other monsters coming into play, that’s maybe down the line.“
Hollywood is serious about landing the next Backrooms. Hot on the heels of a Siren Head feature announcement, Deadline reports that a new movie based on viral YouTube series The Mandela Catalogue is in development.
It also has some Hollywood heavy hitters behind it.
Amblin Entertainment’s Steven Spielberg, United Artists’ Scott Stuber (Frankenstein), and Amazon MGM Studios are set to produce, emerging victorious after a highly competitive 11-studio bidding war.
Launched in 2021, the YouTube series is set in the fictional Mandela County, Wisconsin which is “invaded by shape-shifting, nearly immortal creatures called Alternates. The Alternates are led by a false depiction of the Archangel Gabriel and their aim is to wipe out the human race by psychologically torturing them to the point of suicide. The Alternates are known for manipulating AV media, TVs, computers and GPS systems.”
The movie will be directed by the series’ creator, Alex Kister, based on a screenplay he adapted with Tyler Clifton.
The Mandela Catalogue has racked up an impressive 100 million views across its official episodes alone, solidifying it as one of the largest original analog horror franchises on YouTube.
Spielberg and Holly Bario are producing for Amblin Entertainment alongside Aaron B. Koontz for Paper Street Pictures and Stuber and Nick Nesbitt for United Artists. Kister and Clifton are also producing. Annie McCreery will oversee the project for United Artists. Maria Fortese will oversee for Amblin.
Get acquainted with The Mangela Catalogue below while we wait to learn more.