Get ready to howl at the moon again. 45 years after it first terrified audiences, and 15 years after its last sequel, a classic horror franchise is rising from the grave. Today at CinemaCon, Studiocanal executive Hugh Spearing revealed that a new incarnation of one of the greatest werewolf movies ever made is returning to the screen.
As revealed at tonight’s Studiocanal panel at CinemaCon, the British studio is resurrecting The Howling, in what they describe as a “reimagining.” The 1981 Joe Dante film was a commercial and critical success when it was released in 1981, and its reputation has only grown over time, thanks to a smart script by John Sayles and astonishing makeup work by special effects legend Rob Bottin. The announcement comes during a difficult time for lycanthropic cinema; Blumhouse‘s 2025 Wolf Man reboot was a disappointment for critics and audiences, but Robert Eggers‘ latest period chiller, Werwulf, may resurrect interest in the genre this holiday season.
What Is ‘The Howling’?
Loosely based on the 1977 novel of the same name by Gary Brandner, The Howling centers around TV reporter Karen White (Dee Wallace), who has a traumatizing run-in with serial killer Eddie Quist (Robert Picardo). In the wake of the incident, she and her husband attempt to decompress at The Colony, an isolated wilderness retreat…only to discover that their fellow residents are a pack of ravenous werewolves.
The film was a huge success and spawned a pack of sequels, many of which have very little to do with the original film. They include Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf, in which Karen’s brother teams with monster hunter Christopher Lee to take down a werewolf hunt led by Sybil Danning; Howling III: The Marsupials, an Australian horror comedy about a hidden colony of were-thylacines; and Howling VI: The Freaks, which revolves around a werewolf drifter who’s press-ganged into a traveling carnival. The most recent sequel was 2011’s The Howling: Reborn, which centered around a teenager confronting his werewolf heritage.
CinemaCon is the largest theatrical trade show in North America; it is held annually by Cinema United, a trade organization of theater owners. Established in 1975, it was originally known as ShoWest before being renamed CinemaCon in 2011.
A new incarnation of The Howling is in development at StudioCanal.
via Collider