EXCLUSIVE: Johnny Depp has been set to star in The Invisible Man for Universal Pictures, part of the studio’s new production initiative to reestablish the classic movie monsters that is a cornerstone legacy for the studio. That effort is being led by Alex Kurtzman and Chris Morgan, who’ll produce.

part of the studio’s new production initiative to reestablish the classic movie monsters that is a cornerstone legacy for the studio.

Claude Rains was claustrophobic and it was hard to breathe through the suit. Consequently, the work was especially difficult for him, and a double, who was somewhat shorter than Rains, was sometimes used.

On the DVD short documentary, Claude Rains' daughter tells of a time when the two went to see this movie in the theater years after it was made. It was bitterly cold and his face was completely covered by a hat and scarf. When he spoke to ask for the tickets, the attendant immediately recognized his voice and wanted to let them in for free. Rains was quite upset at this and demanded that he pay full price.

The story follows Navy Seal Tyler Colt and his mission in the Iraqi desert to find a group of terrorists ...

Jason Blum will produce the new monster movie, which represents a rethinking of the studio’s horror franchises

Leigh Whannell, the director of “Insidious: Chapter 3” and “Upgrade,” has signed on to direct the remake of “The Invisible Man,” which Universal Pictures is developing based on the classic monster movie character.

Whannell will also produce alongside Jason Blum for his Universal-based Blumhouse Productions.

Blum explained,

“I don’t believe in saying “We’re going to do movies about this” and then trying to find a movie about it. So I didn’t believe in going and saying ‘I want to do all these movies’, and then try to find directors to do them. We have a director who… we’ve also done six or seven movies with, pitched us this spectacular idea about Invisible Man. We told him to write it, he wrote it, then we took it to the studio and said ‘We’d love to do this and this is what we would do with it,’ and they said yes.”

While Blum is naturally keeping the details of Whannell’s project mum for now, he did talk a bit about what he saw in the pitch and what made him want to take it to Universal.

“It was like the Blumhouse version of The Invisible Man, it’s a lower-budget movie. It’s not dependent on special effects, CGI, stunts. It’s super character-driven, it’s really compelling, it’s trilling, it’s edgy, it feels new. Those were all things that felt like they fit with what our company does. And it happened to be an Invisible Man story, so it checked both boxes. And we responded to it because I think Leigh is just an A+ director.”

Blum also said that despite the IP appeal of The Invisible Man or any similar classic monster projects that might come down the road, they’re still sticking to Blumhouse’s signature low budget model. When I asked Blum about what kind of budget they’re aiming for, he explained:

“We’re definitely in our zone, I don’t know if it’s going to be strictly five [million]. It’s not going to be more than ten, I don’t think.”

Universal is in talks with Elisabeth Moss for the actress to star in its retelling of “Invisible Man.”

Sources say the negotiations are in the extremely early stages, but if they were to move forward, Moss would star in the film with “Upgrade” filmmaker Leigh Whannell writing and directing. Sources also indicate that Johnny Depp, who was originally tapped to play the title character, will not be involved.

Whannell, who is co-producing, has previously worked with Blumhouse Productions on hit films including “Insidious: The Last Key” and “Upgrade.”

Plot details are unknown, but the film marks the first major venture in the studio’s fresh strategy for Universal’s monsters properties, bringing creative directors with distinctive visions to the classic characters and moving on from the original idea to have an interconnected “Dark Universe.” Universal has tabled the idea of an interconnected universe and is reassessing how to keep the enduring characters relevant for a new generation.

Moss can be seen next in Universal’s “Us,” Jordan Peele’s highly anticipated “Get Out” follow-up, which also stars Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke. She’ll then star in the rock drama “Her Smell” and also has the New Line pic “The Kitchen” bowing later this year.

She is also returning for the third season of the Emmy-winning “The Handmaid’s Tale,” which is expected to premiere this summer.

Moss is repped by WME, Independent Talent Group and Ribisi Entertainment Group.

Universal has materialized a release date for its remake of The Invisible Man.

The studio has set a March 13, 2020 opening for the movie, with principal photography set to begin July in Sydney, Australia.

Elisabeth Moss and Storm Reid are toplining the horror thriller that has a script from Leigh Whannel, the co-creator of Saw. Whanell, who is Australian, will direct and executive produce.

Invisible will be produced by Jason Blum for his Blumhouse Productions and by Kylie du Fresne (Upgrade) for Goalpost Pictures.

EXCLUSIVE: The Haunting of Hill House star Oliver Jackson-Cohen has scored the title role in Universal/Blumhouse’s The Invisible Man which begins production this month in Sydney, Australia.