Universal rescues ‘Wolf Man’ from the claws of internet outrage with a first trailer that will have you howling at the moon

Given the rather shoddy history of Universal’s attempt to reboot their lineup of classic monsters for the modern age, 2025’s Wolf Man needed to get off on the right foot. Hiring Leigh Whannell as writer-director was one such right foot, but it was a foot that Blumhouse promptly shot not too long ago, thanks to a promotional pop-up featuring the film’s titular beast.

Putting aside the obvious fact that revealing the monster ahead of the film’s release is a bad move, the look of the creature itself had the internet questioning Blumhouse’s grasp on elementary zoology. Thus, a pivot had to be made, and that pivot has come in the form of the film’s actual trailer. And honestly? Everything is forgiven.

It’s a somewhat unorthodox trailer; an underplayed opening filled with insects minding their own business until they’re not. Their stagnant noise plays up an ominous tone rather than a frenzied one. And the big standout: a series of stylized slashes that remain over the frame, slowly piling up until they spell out the title of the film. It seems that this particular reboot has taken some notes from Alien, and at least as far as marketing goes, there are far worse choices.

What’s also worth noting is the lack of the monster in the trailer itself, despite the antagonist’s form having apparently been revealed already. This monsterless trailer suggests that the costume we saw at the pop-up isn’t the Wolf Man’s actual form, or at least not his final one, and it seems much more likely now that a more proper Wolf Man design is very much still on the table.

Similarly, the trailer doesn’t give too much away in terms of the film’s narrative workings. It’s been readily apparent for some time now that Christopher Abbott‘s character, Blake — who seeks to protect his family from a werewolf — is, himself, the werewolf in question. It’s also no surprise — by the very nature of this being a movie — that the family is going to get plunged into quite a bit of peril; physically on account of the threat of the werewolf, and emotionally on account of the werewolf being the father.

But, importantly, we don’t quite know what the dynamics are, nor in how many ways this tension is going to manifest. Will the family have to make a choice between saving the father and killing the werewolf? How might the daughter reconcile the emotional fallout of a father who loves her suddenly trying to kill her? How will the whole thing inevitably play with classic werewolf motifs?

Well, with this trailer, we’re actually interested in finding out now, and all will be revealed when Wolf Man hits theaters on Jan. 17, 2025. Nice job on the course correction, Blumhouse.