Wolf is an upcoming film from Writer and Director Nathalie Biancheri, of which a trailer has just debuted. It is produced by Focus Features and is set for release on December 3, 2021. George MacKay and Lily-Rose Depp lead a relatively new cast in a story about clinical lycanthropy and the power of both Wolf and Wildcat.
“Jacob, what have they done to you?”
George MacKay (1917) plays the titular character, Jacob. He is joined in Wolf by Lily-Rose Depp (Yoga Hosers), Paddy Considine (Hot Fuzz), Martin McCann (The Pacific), Terry Notary (Kong: Skull Island), Fion O’Shea (Cherry), Eileen Walsh (The South Westerlies), Lola Petticrew (Anne Boleyn), Senan Jennings (Vivarium), John Wolfe (Hellboy), Amy Macken (Dublin Murders), Darragh Shannon (The Lighthouse), Colleen Keogh (Fair City), Karise Yansen (Enterprice), Elsa Fionuir (Hobbyhorse Revolution), and Leo Hanna (Shem the Penman Sings Again). A lot of the cast in Wolf is fairly inexperienced as actors/actresses. Even Lily-Rose Depp has limited experience outside of Kevin Smith films. It should be interesting to see how they perform and how demanding their roles will be.
Nathalie Biancheri writes and directs Wolf. Nocturnal is her only full-length film aside from documentaries and short films. Sophie Green, Celine Haddad, Tom Harberd, Phil Hunt, Stephen Kelliher, and Compton Ross serve as Executive Producers. Check out the first trailer for Wolf below.
An arthouse drama about patients with clinical lycanthropy? A largely untested cast and crew? This film could go any number of different ways. It feels like something that would see a release on a streaming platform instead of a theatrical release. Even more curious is that a premise like this seems better fitted for a horror movie instead of a romantic drama. The few interactions we see with the Zookeeper character abusing patients certainly made me uncomfortable. Part of me had even hoped for a genuine supernatural element and that the patients really did turn into animals. I envisioned something like The Wayward Children series meeting up with Wes Anderson. Still, despite all of my doubts, it could end up being a real darling of a film. Time, and I, will tell.
