Invisible Man (film series)

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.

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]

• 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]

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.