The Haunting of Hill House star Oliver Jackson-Cohen has joined the cast of Blumhouse-Universal Pictures’ The Invisible Man as the title character, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Johnny Depp had initially been slated for the role when the film was first announced to branch off from Tom Cruise’s The Mummy.
First portrayed by Claude Rains in the studio’s 1933 movie, The Invisible Man is inspired by Universal Pictures‘ classic monster character and is based on H. G. Wells’ science-fiction novel following a chemist who discovers the secret of invisibility while conducting a series of tests using a drug called monocane.
Videos by PopCulture.com
Jackson-Cohen will star alongside Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale), Aldis Hodge (City on a Hill), Harriet Dyer (The InBetween), and Storm Reid (A Wrinkle in Time).
Set to begin production in Sydney, Australia, later this month, the film will be produced by Jason Blum for his Blumhouse Productions and by Kylie du Fresne (Upgrade) for Goalpost Pictures, in association with Nervous Tick for Universal Pictures. It will be directed and executive produced by Leigh Whannell, who wrote, directed, and executive produced the 2018 sci-fi thriller Upgrade.
Jackson-Cohen is no stranger to the horror/thriller genre. His previous credits include John Cantrell in The Raven and Jonathan Harker in NBC’s Dracula series, though his career skyrocketed following his appearance in the Mike Flanagan-directed Netflix original series The Haunting of Hill House, in which he portrayed the troubled Luke Crain.
Renewed for a second season, the horror series is set to transform into an anthology, ditching the source material of Shirley Jackson’s 1959 horror novel The Haunting of Hill House in favor of Henry James’ 1898 novella The Turn of the Screw.
Currently, Jackson-Cohen’s on-screen sister Victoria Pedretti, who portrayed Nellie Crain in Hill House, is set to return. Carla Gugino has also claimed that she has been “in talks” to appear in the series’ second season.
As for the possibility of Jackson-Cohen returning, he told The Wrap in May that while he would “love to answer that question,” he would “get shot” if he ever did.
“All I can say is that Bly Manor is going to be incredible. It’s a very, very exciting story, from what I’ve heard,” he added.”
The Haunting of Hill House is currently available for streaming on Netflix. Bly Manor is set to debut in 2020.
The Invisible Man is slated for a March 13, 2020 premiere.
