Invisible Man (film series)

Universal's The Invisible Man film series includes The Invisible Man, The Invisible Man Returns, The Invisible Woman, Invisible Agent, The Invisible Man's Revenge and Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man.[1] Film historian Ken Hanke described "The Invisible Man series as one of Universal's "most fragmented series".[1] The authors of Universal Horror wrote that attempts at connected the series to the first film "proved awkward" unlike Universal's The Mummy and Frankenstein series.[2] Examples of these connections include The Invisible Man Returns where the character Geoffrey Radcliffe (Vincent Price) receives the invisibility formula from Dr. Frank Griffin (John Sutton), a relative of Jack Griffin from the first film and Invisible Spy where Frank Raymond is the grandson of Jack Griffin.[3][4] In The Invisible Man's Revenge, the screenplay does not connect Robert Griffin with the previous Griffins who either created, understood, and or operated with the invisibility formula.[5]

Some films in the series were described as being re-writes of previous films. Hanke described The Invisible Man Returns's story being "more than slightly similar" to the 1934 film Charlie Chan in London.[4] In Phil Hardy's book Science Fiction, a review stated that the Invisible Man's Revenge was basically a rewrite of the 1936 film The Walking Dead.[6] Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man was described by the authors of Universal Horrors as being a semi-remake of The Invisible Man Returns with the title character rewritten as a boxer framed for murder.[7] Hanke described The Invisible Woman as being "curious offshoot" of the series, being directed by A. Edward Sutherland who specialized in comedy films.[8]

Following the success of Dracula, Richard L Schayer and Robert Florey suggested to Universal Pictures that an adaptation of H.G. Wells's The Invisible Man as early as 1931.[9] Though promoted as being based off of H.G. Wells' novel The Invisible Man, the screenplay only follows the basics of the original novel.[1] After going through several potential directors, including Florey, Cyril Gardner, E. A. Dupont, with James Whale eventually being chosen.[9] [10] Shooting of the film began on June 1933 and concluded in late August[11]

Universal Pictures first announced the development of The Invisible Man Returns in March 1939, around the time Son of Frankenstein was performing well at the box office.[12] Hanke described the film's story being "more than slightly similar" to the 1934 film Charlie Chan in London.[4] Though not a horror film, The Invisible Woman was originally written as a more serious horror film, about a mad scientist turning a woman invisible.[13][8] The story was then passed on to Robert Lees and Fred Naldo who specialized in comedy.[13] Gertrude Purcell, who had written the screenplay for the western comedy Destry Rides Again was hired to add a woman's perspective on the story.[13]

Invisible Agent was announced under the title The Invisible Spy in early 1942.[14] Universal first announced the plan for The Invisible Man's Revenge on June 10, 1943 with the hopes of having Claude Rains performing in the lead.[15] Actor Jon Hall who was Frank "Raymond" Griffin in Invisible Agent now portrays Robert Griffin, a killer who seeks revenge on men who framed him.[6] A retrospective review in Phil Hardy's book Science Fiction commented that the film was basically a rewrite of the 1936 film The Walking Dead.[6]

Prior to the first day of shooting The Invisible Man's Revenge, Universal's attorneys made a deal with H. G. Wells for the rights to make two more Invisible Man sequels between July 1943 and October 1951.[16] Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man was described by the authors of Univeral Horrors as being a semi-remake of The Invisible Man Returns with the title character rewritten as a boxer framed for murder.[7] Several lines of dialog from The Invisible Man Returns and some special effects were reused in the film.[7]

In his book The Monster Movies of Universal Studios, James L Neibaur commented on the series stating that outside the 1933 film The Invisible Man, "none of its sequels were particularly impressive" finding the The Invisible Man's Revenge "average", The Invisible Woman "amusing" and Invisible Agent benefitting from the appearance of Peter Lorre in the cast, and The Invisible Man's Revenge "pedestrian".[21][22]

Development of a new The Invisible Man film began as early as 2006 when David S. Goyer was hired to write the screenplay.[23] Goyer remained attached to the project as late as 2011, with little to no further development on the film.[24]

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.[25] 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.[26] 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.[27]

In January 2019, Universal announced that all future movies film on their horror characters would focus on standalone stories, avoiding inter-connectivity.[28] Successful horror film producer Jason Blum, founder of production company Blumhouse Productions,[29] 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.[30]

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.[31] 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."[31]

• 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.

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.[35] Banks was allowed to choose a project by Universal Pictures from the roster of Universal Monsters, ultimately choosing The Invisible Woman.[36]