Werewolf: The Beast Among Us started life as a sequel to Universal's 2010 remake of Van Helsing from 2004 was an epic monster mash from The Mummy director Stephen Sommers that combined Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster and The Wolfman, but it suffered from a terrible script and rushed CGI.
They tried again with The Invisible Man, which was produced in collaboration with Blumhouse, while director Karyn Kusama is attached to a Dracula reboot.
Another notable failed relaunch for Universal's monsters was the 2010 take on Captain America: The First Avenger) taking over. The movie also had incredible, practical makeup effects by Rick Baker, which were largely replaced by CG in the final product. The film had been a dream project for Baker, who was so disheartened by the changes he later quit the movie business completely. Former president of Universal Ronald Meyer even stated The Wolfman was one of the worst movies the studio put out during his tenure.
In truth, the final version of The Wolfman 2010 isn't that bad. It's got a great cast, rich gothic production design and surprisingly juicy gore for a studio release, but the story is muddled and del Toro's hero is too emotionally distant to really connect with. The movie underperformed but it almost received a spinoff with Werewolf: The Beast Among Us. This movie comes from Universal 1440 Entertainment, who focus on STV releases like Doom: Annihilation, and follows a team of hunters seeking a werewolf with almost human levels of intelligence and the ability to transform at will.
Werewolf: The Beast Among Us was once linked to The Wolfman - likely as a means by the studio to milk a little extra revenue from their failed 2010 movie - but the final version ultimately has no ties to it. It's a spirited little b-movie with some fun performances and setpieces but it's ultimately forgettable. A twist reveals the main werewolf is actually the good guy, which could have set up a series of heroic Wolfman movies had Universal decided to keep it linked.
