Overshadowed by Avatar last week, here's the first theatrical trailer for The Wolfman remake, starring Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving. Worryingly, it's had a troubled production history (notably, original director Mark Romanek left and was replaced by The Rocketeer's Joe Johnston.) I don't mind Johnston, but I was more psyched for Romanek's take. It felt that the studio just wanted a safe pair of hands, so maybe Romanek's version was going to take some unusual deviations they weren't happy with?
Anyway, it's now been pushed back from Halloween to become an "alternate date movie" for Valentine's Day (a la most Hannibal Lecter movies). A gorier version of this trailer was screened at Comic-Con last year to great acclaim, and while this version is less gruesome, it hits the same storytelling beats.
I think it looks good, but not fantastic. I'm mainly interested in the cast, as Del Toro is perfect for this role (he already resembles a werewolf sans make-up and is a huge fan of the original), I always enjoy Hopkins when he's allowed to chew the scenery, rising star Blunt should make a great love-interest, and Weaving's always good value. It looks stylishly gothic and I'm a sucker for an old-school werewolf flick, so I guess I'm just hoping this is a mere appetiser and the actual film will be scary, violent and a worthwhile update.
Released: 10 February 2010 (US), 12 February 2010 (UK), 25 February 2010 (AUS)
HD Downloads: 480P (35MB) | 720P (87MB) | 1080P (122MB)
