The Invisible Man is the title of several horror-adventure film series centered on an individual who is made to be invisible, bringing them into contact with insanity from both without and within, and the ensuing efforts made to turn them visible again.
Universal Classic Monsters film series (1933–1951)[]
The original series of films consisted of seven installments, which starred iconic horror actors such as Claude Rains (only in the original one, as Griffin); Vincent Price, Virginia Bruce, and Arthur Franz as Sir Geoffrey Radcliffe, Kitty Carroll, and Tommy Nelson; and lastly Jon Hall, who played twin brothers Frank and Robert Griffin, grandchildren of the original Griffin. The series of films is part of the larger Universal Classic Monsters series.
| Year | Film | The Invisible Main actor |
|---|---|---|
| 1933 | Invisible Man | Claude Rains |
| 1940 | The Invisible Man Returns | Vincent Price |
| The Invisible Woman | Virginia Bruce | |
| 1942 | Invisible Agent | |
| 1944 | The Invisible Man's Revenge | |
| 1948 | Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein | Vincent Price |
| 1951 | Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man | Arthur Franz |
Dark Universe and reboot series (2020–present)[]
| The Invisible Man | |
|---|---|
| Directed by |
|
| Screenplay by |
|
| Produced by |
|
| Starring |
|
| Edited by | Andy Canny (1) |
| Music by | Benjamin Wallfisch (1) |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date | 2020–Present |
Running time | 125 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $7 million |
| Box office | $124.5 million |
Development of a new The Invisible Man film began as early as 2006 when David S. Goyer was hired to write the screenplay.[1] Goyer remained attached to the project as late as 2011, with little to no further development on the film.[2]
In February 2016, the project was announced to be revived as part of Universal's cinematic universe, intended to consist of their classic monsters. Johnny Depp was cast as the titular character, with Ed Solomon writing the screenplay.[3] The film was set to be part of Universal Pictures' modern-day reboot of their Universal Monsters, called Dark Universe. The would-be series of films was set to begin with The Mummy and followed by a remake of Bride of Frankenstein in 2019. In 2017, The Mummy director Alex Kurtzman stated that fans should expect at least one film per year in the shared film universe.[4] However, once The Mummy was released to negative critical reception and box office returns deemed by the studio as insufficient, changes were made to the Dark Universe to focus on individual storytelling and move away from the shared universe concept.[5]
In January 2019, Universal announced that all future movies film on their horror characters would focus on standalone stories, avoiding inter-connectivity.[6] Successful horror film producer Jason Blum, founder of production company Blumhouse Productions,[7] had at various times publicly expressed his interest in reviving and working on future installments within the Dark Universe films. The Invisible Man was set to be written and directed by Leigh Whannell, and produced by Blum, but would not star Depp as previously reported.[8]
On February 22, 2020, during an interview with Cinemablend's ReelBlend Podcast, Whannell stated that the film was never planned to be part of any cinematic universe, including the Dark Universe.[9] He stated,
- ""It was weird, this film came about in a really random way. It wasn't like I was plugged into some kind of worldbuilding. I had just finished Upgrade, they called me in for a meeting with some of these Universal and Blumhouse execs… I go to this meeting, and they didn't really talk about Upgrade. I mean, they said they liked it and they moved on. So, I'm sitting on this couch thinking, 'What am I here for? What is this meeting about?' And they started talking about The Invisible Man."[9]"
| Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Invisible Man | 91% (344 reviews)[10] | 71 (357 reviews)[11] | B+[12] |
- The Invisible Man (2020)
Trapped in a violent, controlling relationship with a wealthy and brilliant scientist, Cecilia Kass escapes in the dead of night and disappears into hiding, aided by her sister Alice, their childhood friend and her ex-husband James, and their teenage daughter Sydney. But when Cecilia's abusive ex-boyfriend commits suicide and leaves her a generous portion of his vast fortune, Cecilia suspects his death was a hoax; as a series of eerie coincidences turn lethal, threatening the lives of those she loves, Cecilia's sanity begins to unravel as she desperately tries to prove that she is being hunted by someone nobody can see. - The Invisible Woman (TBA)
In November 2019, it was announced that a spin-off film centered around the female counterpart to Invisible Man was in development. Elizabeth Banks was set to star in, direct, and produce a new adaptation of The Invisible Woman (1940), based on her own original story pitch. Erin Cressida Wilson will write the script for the reboot of the female monster, while Max Handelman and Alison Small will serve as producer and executive producer, respectively.[13] Banks was allowed to choose a project by Universal Pictures from the roster of Universal Monsters, ultimately choosing The Invisible Woman.[14]
Feature films[]
| Number | Title | Release date | Director | Continuity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Invisible Man | November 13, 1933 | James Whale | Universal Classic Monsters |
| 2 | The Invisible Man Returns | January 12, 1940 | Joe May | |
| 3 | The Invisible Woman | December 27, 1940 | A. Edward Sutherland | |
| 4 | Invisible Agent | July 31, 1942 | Edwin L. Marin | |
| 5 | The Invisible Man's Revenge | June 9, 1944 | Ford Beebe | |
| 6 | Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein | June 15, 1948 | Charles Barton | |
| 7 | Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man | March 19, 1951 | Charles Lamont | |
| 8 | The Invisible Man | February 27, 2020 | Leigh Whannell | Reboot series |
| 9 | The Invisible Woman | TBA | Elizabeth Banks | |
Cast and characters[]
List indicator(s)
- A dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film.
- A P indicates the character was shown in a photograph and/or mentioned.
- A U indicates a uncredited role.
- A V indicates a voice-only role.
- A C indicates a cameo appearance.
- A L indicates an appearance wherein an actor's facial features were digitally imprinted upon another actor's face.
- A Y indicates an appearance as a younger version of a pre-existing character.
- An A indicates an appearance through archival footage, audio or stills.
Crew[]
| Crew/detail | Film | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Universal Classic Monsters | Reboot series | |||||||||
| The Invisible Man | The Invisible Man Returns | The Invisible Woman | Invisible Agent | The Invisible Man's Revenge | Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein |
Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man |
The Invisible Man | The Invisible Woman | ||
| 1933 | 1940 | 1942 | 1944 | 1948 | 1951 | 2020 | TBA | |||
| Director(s) | James Whale | Joe May | A. Edward Sutherland | Edwin L. Marin | Ford Beebe | Charles Barton | Charles Lamont | Leigh Whannell | Elizabeth Banks | |
| Producer(s) | Carl Laemmle, Jr. | Ken Goldsmith | Burt Kelly | Frank Lloyd | Robert Arthur | Howard Christie | Jason Blum Kylie du Fresne |
Elizabeth Banks Max Handelman | ||
| Writer(s) | Screenplay: R. C. Sherriff, Philip Wylie & Preston Sturges |
Screenplay: Curt Siodmak & Lester Cole |
Screenplay: Robert Lees, Frederic I. Rinaldo & Gertrude Purcell |
Curtis Siodmak | Bertram Millhauser | Screenplay: Robert Lees, Frederic I. Rinaldo & John Grant |
Leigh Whannell | Screenplay: Erin Cressida Wilson | ||
| Based on characters by: H.G. Wells and Philip Wylie |
Story: Curtis Siodmak & Joe May |
Based on characters by: Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, Curt Siodmak, and H.G. Wells |
Story: Hugh Wedlock Jr. & Howard Snyder |
Story: Elizabeth Banks | ||||||
| Composer(s) | Heinz Roemheld | Hans J. Salter Frank Skinner |
Frank Skinner | Hans J. Salter (uncredited) | Hans J. Salter | Frank Skinner | Erich Zeisl | Benjamin Wallfisch | TBA | |
| Editor(s) | Ted J. Kent | Frank Gross | Edward Curtiss | Saul A. Goodkind | Frank Gross | Virgil Vogel | Andy Canny | |||
| Cinematographer | Arthur Edeson | Milton R. Krasner | Elwood Bredell | Lester White | Milton R. Krasner | Charles Van Enger | George Robinson | Stefan Duscio | ||
| Production companies | Universal Pictures | Universal-International | Blumhouse Productions Nervous Tick Goalpost Pictures |
Brownstone Productions | ||||||
| Distributor(s) | Universal Pictures | |||||||||
| Runtime | 71 minutes | 81 minutes | 72 minutes | 81 minutes | 78 minutes | 83 minutes | 82 minutes | 124 minutes | TBA | |
| Release date | November 13, 1933 | January 12, 1940 | December 27, 1940 | July 31, 1942 | June 9, 1944 | June 15, 1948 | March 19, 1951 | February 27, 2020 | ||
Derivative works[]
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References[]
- ↑ Billington, Alex (December 12, 2008). "David S. Goyer Directing The Invisible Man Before Magneto". FirstShowing.net. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "David S. Goyer's 'Invisible Man' Remake Is Still Alive". screenrant.com. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Fleming, Mike, Jr. (2016-02-10). "Johnny Depp To Star In 'The Invisible Man' At Universal". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ↑ "Alex Kurtzman says monster movie fans should get one Dark Universe film a year". metro.co.uk. 6 June 2017. Archived from the original on 10 November 2017. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
{{cite web}}: - ↑
- Kit, Borys; Couch, Aaron (November 8, 2017). "Universal's "Monsterverse" in Peril as Top Producers Exit (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 8, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171108183009/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/alex-kurtzman-chris-morgan-exit-universal-monsterverse-1055854. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
- "Universal's 'Monsterverse' in Peril as Top Producers Exit (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter (Eldridge Industries). November 8, 2017. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/alex-kurtzman-chris-morgan-exit-universal-monsterverse-1055854.
- "Dark Universe: the undignified death of a cinematic universe" (in en). Den of Geek. https://www.denofgeek.com/uk/movies/the-mummy/53302/dark-universe-the-undignified-death-of-a-cinematic-universe.
- ↑ ‘Invisible Man’ Finds Director, Sets New Course for Universal’s Monster Legacy (EXCLUSIVE)
- ↑ Cunningham, Todd (July 20, 2014). "Blumhouse Signs 10-Year Production Deal With Universal Pictures". The Wrap. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
{{cite web}}: - ↑
- "Spawn Producer Jason Blum Interested In Reviving Dark Universe". 18 August 2018.
{{cite web}}: - Kroll, Justin (2019-01-25). "'Invisible Man' Finds Director, Sets New Course for Universal's Monster Legacy (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
{{cite web}}:
- "Spawn Producer Jason Blum Interested In Reviving Dark Universe". 18 August 2018.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Mahmoud, Sarah El (February 22, 2020). "The Invisible Man Was Never Considered A Part Of The Dark Universe, Leigh Whannell Reveals". Cinemablend.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "The Invisible Man (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "The Invisible Man (2020) Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on March 28, 2020.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Cinemascore". CinemaScore. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Kroll, Justin (November 26, 2019). "Elizabeth Banks to Direct, Star in Invisible Woman for Universal". Variety. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Donnelly, Matt (2020-02-11). "Hollywood Still Trying to Put a Ring on Universal's 'Bride of Frankenstein' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
{{cite web}}: