Pierce Brosnan starring in a werewolf movie? We didn’t see it coming, but we shouldn’t be surprised, as the werewolf subgenre seems to be making a comeback these days.
Last year saw the arrival of Jacqueline Castel’s My Animal, an astonishingly cool movie that combines the weight-lifting and lesbianism of Love Lies Bleeding with a generous helping of lycanthrope horror. The iconic Larry Fessenden recently released his take on the mythology with last month’s Blackout. And, even as we speak, Leigh Whannell is hard at work on Wolfman, his modern update on the classic Universal Monsters tale.
But now Brosnan’s getting in the game, and we couldn’t be happier. According to Variety, the former 007 has signed on to headline Wolfland, the second feature to be helmed by his son, Sean Brosnan (who co-wrote the film with screenwriter Matt D’Elia).
Here’s how Variety’s describing the film:
“Described as an ‘epic odyssey,’ Wolfland follows a young teenager who, when his sister is viciously attacked and showing signs of a transformation, leaves his small village in search of a legendary werewolf hunter who can reverse the gruesome curse. When he finds the ‘legend,’ Devlin, slumped against a bar and in no mood for ghost stories, Delvin takes the kid’s money and agrees to hunt down this phantom monster, only to find themselves in a deadly whirlwind of carnage.”
All of that sounds like it could be a lot of fun, particularly if Brosnan’s playing the boozy monster hunter, but Wolfland will also feature FX work from one of the best studios in the business. Adds Variety:
“The film is being produced by Marcus Warren for Light Sound Frequency and Christian Moore for The Consortium, with Imaginarium Studios, founded by Andy Serkis (Planet of the Apes, The Lord of the Rings), providing creature design and effects. The Exchange is executive producing and handling worldwide sales at the Marché du Film in Cannes, with the shoot expected to start later this year in the U.K.”
Yes, werewolves designed by Andy Serkis’ Imaginarium Studios. Hell, even if you aren’t typically a fan of werewolf movies, you’ve gotta be excited about seeing that, right?
Let’s see what Sean Brosnan has to say about working with his father on a movie like this:
“I’m excited to be working with Pierce on a film that aims to redefine the werewolf sub-genre. With the amazing special effects talents at Imaginarium, we’ll craft a werewolf transformation set to rival the iconic scenes from An American Werewolf in London. We’re thrilled about the potential impact of an expanding Wolfland universe.”
Invoking the name of An American Werewolf in London – and saying that your film will rival the transformation sequences in that movie, which are still considered among the very best ever committed to film – is quite the bold statement. Many have tried over the years, but few werewolf joints ever reach those delirious highs. Here’s hoping that Brosnan and company are able to pull it off!
There’s nothing further to report on Wolfland at this time, but rest assured we’ll be keeping you informed as further updates roll in. Stay tuned for those and, in the meantime, make sure you’ve seen every other already-released werewolf movie mentioned in this post. There’s some great stuff out there if you know where to look for it!
