Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Wolf Man!
2025’s Wolf Man is a fairly stripped down take on the iconic Universal monster, but it does make one werewolf change that was long overdue. The newest Wolf Man film takes the original story and updates it for the modern day, with it also following a man as he slowly transforms into a werewolf. However, Christopher Abbott’s Blake Lovell isn’t the only werewolf in the film, with a few others being featured. This allows the 2025 Wolf Man movie to make one major change to the character, one that should have been done a long time ago.
After the failure of Universal’s Dark Universe, a cinematic universe that was intended to feature a shared continuity of Universal Monsters, the studio pivoted to a new attempt with the release of Leigh Whannell’s 2020 film The Invisible Man. This grounded twist on the original movie led to a new strategy, with Universal now creating smaller, stand-alone remakes of their classic Universal Monster films. Leigh Whannell has returned for another one, with him directing the 2025 Wolf Man movie, and while he does stick to the original story, there is a major change.
A Werewolf Is The Villain Of 2025’s Wolf Man
He Doesn’t Stay The Protagonist For Long
The best decision made in Leigh Whannell’s Wolf Man movie is making the тιтular monster the main villain of the film. Wolf Man starts out with a younger version of Blake and his father going on a hunting trip, with them being stalked by a mysterious werewolf. Thirty years later, an older version of Blake returns to the woods with his family, with him this time being stalked by an all-new werewolf. This werewolf is the villain of Wolf Man, with the story following the family as they attempt to survive the werewolf while also going through Blake’s lycanthropic transformation.
While Blake starts out as the protagonist of the film, and while he does begin to transform into a werewolf throughout Wolf Man, he is not the hero of the story. After transforming into a werewolf, the audience is no longer rooting for him, with him immediately attempting to kill his family after his transformation is complete. Instead, Julia Garner’s Charlotte becomes the protagonist. So, while there are two different werewolves featured in the film, Wolf Man always keeps the proper werewolves as the antagonists, with it focusing on the survivors of the group instead.
Previous Wolf Man Movies Have Positioned The Werewolf As The Protagonist
Making The 2025 Film Unique
2025’s Wolf Man movie making the werewolf the antagonist is unique, as many previous movies about the Wolf Man have focused on a protagonist who is turning into a werewolf. The antagonistic werewolves typically are not prominently featured throughout the movie, with the addition of Blake’s father as the villain being the major change that sets 2025’s Wolf Man apart. Having Blake immediately become a villain upon fully transforming into the werewolf is the unique twist that the film needed, with the switch to focusing on Charlotte helping the werewolf storylines flow together.
Meanwhile, werewolf movies like the original film, An American Werewolf in London, and others focus on the struggles of the protagonist attempting to balance his human and werewolf lives. 2025’s Wolf Man never shows Blake turning back into a human after becoming a werewolf, with him presumably being a werewolf forever after his transformation. While Blake maintaining his werewolf status is a major change to commonly known werewolf lore, this change is a good thing.
Making The Werewolf A Villain Was Smart For 2025’s Wolf Man
It Is More Similar To Previous Universal Monster Movies
Making the werewolf the main villain of 2025’s Wolf Man is the best choice, as it makes the movie a proper horror film. Past movies that focus of werewolves feel more like character dramas, with them following a protagonist who can’t balance his two lives. This means that the scares typically aren’t there, as we are shown the perspective of the werewolf himself but not his victims. Wolf Man, however, switches to focusing on Blake’s family after his transformation, meaning that the movie can still be scary.
On top of that, making the Wolf Man a villain allows the 2025 film to fall in line with Leigh Whannell’s previous Universal Monster effort. 2020’s The Invisible Man did something similar, with it following Elisabeth Moss’ Cecilia as she is pursued by the тιтular monster rather than following the Invisible Man himself. This may be a twist on what the classic Universal Monster movies did, but in the case of The Invisible Man and Wolf Man, it is a good one.
