On the heels of his recent reunion with Blumhouse, Leigh Whannell is once again addressing the chances of The Invisible Man 2 happening. The 2020 adaptation of H.G. Wells’ classic sci-fi novel, updated for a modern setting and following a woman as she escapes a controlling relationship, only to be tormented by her optics engineer husband and his creation of an invisibility suit, was a critical and commercial hit. The years since have seen on and off talks for an Invisible Man 2 to be made, with Whannell stating in October 2024 he was happy to leave it where it is.

During a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter for his and Blumhouse’s latest collaboration, Wolf Man, Whannell was asked about his thoughts on continuing his relationship with the studio for The Invisible Man 2. The writer/director began by explaining how crafting a satisfying ending is one of the biggest challenges of filmmaking, calling it the “holy grail of screenwriting“, and how the recent re-release of a classic crime thriller reminded him of this:

An ending is the hardest thing to do in screenwriting. It’s the holy grail of screenwriting, and I revere movies with great endings. In fact, I just went to the Chinese Theatre and saw Se7en in IMAX. I’ve seen that film so many times, but seeing it on a big screen really hammered home how great that ending is. I envy that powerful ending as a screenwriter.

He would go on to reflect on his process in creating the ending for the original Invisible Man, and explaining how he “can’t imagine gluing more story onto” the 2020 hit, but did acknowledge that sequels are “mostly driven by the economics of Hollywood.” He specifically noted how the Saw and Insidious franchises have continued without him in the writer’s chair, pointing toward the former as having “become its own beast“:

With Invisible Man, you talked about the track “Denouement,” and because I love that note that the film ended on, I can’t imagine gluing more story onto that. Sequels are mostly driven by the economics of Hollywood. “We scored, we did well, and let’s do it again. Let’s get them back there.” And I’ve been a front-row viewer of that. I have also written two movies [Saw and Insidious] that have turned into long-running franchises with varying degrees of artistic success. I’m not going to pretend that every movie in the Saw franchise is … That film has become its own beast, and I sit outside of it now.

Echoing his sentiments from October 2024, Whannell would again reaffirm that he’s very content with the original movie that he doesn’t “feel the artistic need to go forward” with an Invisible Man 2. Though he noted that Blumhouse and Universal may still move forward on one without him, he doesn’t seem himself coming back. Check out the rest of what Whannell explained below:

I was so happy with Invisible Man’s ending that I just don’t feel the artistic need to go forward with it. The financial need is something different. The studio might look at that and say, “Well, we feel like it should keep going because we want to make more money.” But on an artistic level, I’m like, “That’s a nice closed door there. Let’s just leave it closed.”

What This Means For Invisible Man 2

It Wouldn’t Be The First Sequel To Move On From Whannell

Though Whannell’s comments may fall in line with his previous response to the chances of a sequel, they actually prove the opposite of what Elisabeth Moss said in April 2024 when asked about The Invisible Man 2. The star not only indicated that the creative team of the original were “closer than ever” to figuring out how to make the follow-up happen, but even specifically stated “my production company” was involved, pointing towards her dedication for it. She did, however, also note Whannell’s involvement with the Wolf Man reboot at the time as a potential conflict for his return.

Given Moss and Blumhouse seem ready to move forward with Invisible Man 2, the sequel could very well follow the same path as the Saw franchise. As he noted in the comments above, his and James Wan’s horror franchise has largely moved beyond its original creators, with the two maintaining executive producer credits on every installment, though only having direct involvement in the first three. While he does also note the Insidious franchise’s similar trajectory, it only recently saw Whannell not as involved as he only developed the story for and made a cameo in Insidious: The Red Door after writing the first four.

If looking at the way those sequels were received, Whannell not returning for Invisible Man 2 could go in either direction for the Blumhouse follow-up. The Saw sequels infamously saw increasingly negative reviews from critics and audiences alike, while subsequent Insidious installments failed to match the Fresh rating of its franchise starter on Rotten Tomatoes, but saw mixed receptions more so than negative. Saw X is the rare exception to either series, with the 2023 midquel not only being the first to land a Fresh rating for the series from critics, but also the “Certified Fresh” label.

Our Take On The Invisible Man 2’s Chances

Whannell’s Original Largely Closed Things Out

As much as I loved the original movie and the way it updated its source material’s formula for a modern-day setting, I do think The Invisible Man 2 is probably better off not happening, particularly if Whannell doesn’t return. The original Invisible Man ending wrapped things up quite nicely as Moss’ Cecilia killed Adrian, making it look like a suicide, and set off with her own suit, free from his control. Though I would be open to seeing what a new creative team could do with this ending, it still felt close-ended enough that it probably doesn’t need a follow-up.

Source: THR