The ‘Invisible Man’ Remake May Actually Be About An Invisible Woman
Could theInvisible Manremake actually beThe Invisible Woman? It’s possible, teasedThe Handmaid’s TalestarElisabeth Moss, who has recently been reported to be attached to the upcoming Universal horror film. With initial star Johnny Depp no longer involved with the project, Universal is reportedly looking at a new star. But with Moss' latest coy statement, the studio could be looking for averydifferent performer.
Earlier thismonth, it was reported that Moss could possibly be joining theInvisible Mancast in an undisclosed role. While Moss wouldn’t directly address those rumors in a new interview withBuzzfeed News, the Emmy winner suggested that she could be circling a role that’s more than just love interest or supporting character — it could be the lead.
“I would say I don’t think I would be replacing Johnny Depp necessarily. I can say that. But I think it’s an incredible story that maybe needs to to be retold, but maybe with a woman.”
“I’m not saying I’m doing it,” she added. “I’m just saying that theoretically that would be a great idea.”
A gender-bentInvisible Manremake would certainly be a new concept, but not one out of line with the current trend in Hollywood of remaking male-centric stories with women in the lead. While those have led to mixed results, I don’t see why anInvisible Manremake would suffer from it — after all, he’s invisible. Plus there might be some interesting commentary on how women are treated as invisible in society.
Leigh Whannell(Upgrade) has been tapped by Universal to direct theInvisible Manremake, which is rumored to start production in July. The film will be inspired by the H.G. Wells classic of the same name, which told the story of “Griffin, a scientist who has devoted himself to research into optics and invents a way to change a body’s refractive index to that of air so that it absorbs and reflects no light and thus becomes invisible. He successfully carries out this procedure on himself, but fails in his attempt to reverse the procedure.”
The first adaptation of Wells' book came in 1933 fromFrankensteindirector James Whale, with Claude Rains in the lead role. The film became a horror classic, following the same formula as the book, in which Griffin goes on a murderous rampage after being driven insane by his invisibility. It would certainly be a juicy role for Moss to chomp on, but when pressed on whether she would be starring inInvisible Man, she answered, “I would say that I can’t talk about it. I can’t really talk about it, but I would say that it’s— I can’t say anything about it.”
Watch this space as we learn more about the upcomingInvisible Manremake.
