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If Leigh Whannell wasn't on your radar as a director immediately after Upgrade was released that's one thing, but you'll have no excuse to be sleeping on his talent after The Invisible Man hits theaters this weekend. In the 2018 release Upgrade, Whannell showed off some serious craftsmanship directing wildly impressive and electric action sequences to show what happens when a man gets a STEM implant that basically turns him into a killing machine. Now in Invisible Man, it's all about nailing the creative challenges of bringing an unseen force to screen.

The movie stars Elisabeth Moss as Cecilia Kass. She's stuck in an abusive relationship with Oliver Jackson-Cohen's character Adrian and at the start of the film, she makes a run for it. She manages to escape and moves in with her longtime friend James (Aldis Hodge) and his daughter Sydney (Storm Reid). It isn't easy over coming the emotional scars her time with Adrian left behind, but with their support, Cecilia manages to improve little by little. Then, one day, she gets word that Adrian chose to take his own life. While those around think now's the time for Cecilia to move forward with her life full force, Cecilia herself starts to notice strange things happening - things that make her believe that Adrian isn't really gone; he's just figured out a way to make himself invisible.

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Image via Universal Pictures

With The Invisible Man hitting theaters nationwide on February 28th, I got the chance to chat with Whannell who explained when he first came up with the idea for the movie (before or after the Dark Universe collapse), if there was any hesitation adapting an iconic story, and he revealed the advice he'd give to other filmmakers who may make new movies for the Universal monsters in the future. You can hear about that and more in the video interview at the top of this article. And if you're looking for even more Invisible Man coverage, check out this lengthy chat with the film's star Elisabeth Moss who joined up for an episode of Collider Ladies Night to talk about the movie, her evolution as an actor, her cats and their IMDb pages, and more!

Leigh Whannell:

  • When did Whannell come up with this idea, before or after the Dark Universe collapsed?
  • Was there any hesitation jumping into adapting an iconic character rather than making another original film?
  • What advice would Whannell give another writer-director bringing a classic Universal monster back to the big screen?
  • Does Whannell have anything to do with the new Saw movie, Spiral? When he found out Chris Rock was such a big franchise fan.
  • What happens next to his Aquaman character?