James Wan to Produce New Van Helsing Movie from Universal

James Wan will help bring another Universal Monsters property to life.

The horror master will produce an original horror film for the studio centred on famous monster hunter Van Helsing. This marks the studio’s latest attempt at bringing many of their famous horror icons to the big screen. Julius Avery (Overlord) will direct the film.

Although Universal is keeping the plot line under wraps, this new project will set in the world of Van Helsing although how he will be integral to the story is yet to be determined. For those who may not remember, the character was introduced in Bram Stocker’s classic horror novel “Dracula” and was famously played by Hugh Jackman in a film of the same name in 2004. Originally meant to be the start of a franchise, it was a critical and commercial disappointment although Jackman earned strong notices. Despite this setback, Universal has always considered Van Helsing to be an important character worthy of a big screen adventure and have tried for many years to do him justice.

Although their attempt at a Marvel type interconnected big budget universe sputtered with 2017’s The Mummy, the studio has found a new way of bringing these beasts and creatures to life. Rather than go the big budget route and turn them into something they aren’t, Universal is hiring unique filmmakers who can bring their vision and passion to the world with a compelling story. We saw the first signs of this at the beginning of the year with Wan’s former partner Leigh Whannell and his unique take on The Invisible Man. Made on a low budget, the film was one of the last pre-COVID theatrical hits grossing $130 million worldwide and making more on VOD making it one of the most profitable movies of this crazy year. Whannell will team with Ryan Gosling for the studio’s latest update on The Wolfman.

It seems that after many false starts, Universal has finally found a way to give their monster library the respect they deserve. Rather than pour hundreds of millions copying what worked for other franchises, the studio is instead giving each character a stand alone film and hiring filmmakers with a unique idea to bring to life. And getting Wan involved as a producer is a sign they want to do this right. Next to Jason Blum, he is probably the most prolific filmmaker in the genre having brought numerous franchises to the screen such as Saw, Insidious and The Conjuring and producing movies like Lights Out. Avery being chosen as director is also a sign of the unique path Universal is taking. Although his 2018 debut Overlord was not a commercial success, it earned the director good will by combining many tropes into an entertaining film. One can imagine what Avery will bring to Van Helsing

At this time, there is no announced production start date, but we will update you as more information comes out on Van Helsing.