Oliver Jackson-Cohen, the star of “The Haunting of Hill House,” is attached for the lead role in “The Invisible Man” monster movie set up at Universal and Blumhouse, an individual with knowledge of the project tells TheWrap.
Jackson-Cohen will star alongside the previously announced Elisabeth Moss, Aldis Hodge, Harriet Dyer and Storm Reid in the horror reboot that is set to kick off production this month in Sydney, Australia.
Johnny Depp was previously attached to star as the lead in what was once meant to be Universal’s Dark Universe of films, a shared universe of movies that incorporated new takes on Old Hollywood monster characters, with movies announced based on both “The Wolf Man” and “Bride of Frankenstein.” That franchise kicked off with the Tom Cruise vehicle “The Mummy” that also starred Russell Crowe as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Leigh Whannell (“Upgrade,” “The Last Key”) is directing, writing and executive producing the film, and “The Invisible Man” hits theaters on February 28, 2020.
Jason Blum is producing “The Invisible Man” for his Blumhouse Productions along with Kylie du Fresne for Goalpost Pictures. The film is a co-production of Goalpost Pictures Australia and Blumhouse Productions, in association with Nervous Tick, for Universal Pictures.
Jackson-Cohen, an English actor from London, starred as Luke Crain in Netflix’s horror and mystery series “The Haunting of Hill House.” Prior to that, he played a lead role in the BBC drama “Man in an Orange Shirt” and has also appeared in NBC’s “Emerald City” and the Australian mini-series “The Secret River.”
Among his film credits, Jackson-Cohen has appeared in “The Healer,” “Despite the Falling Snow,” “Faster,” “Going the Distance” and “The Raven.” Jackson-Cohen is represented by United Agents, Management 360, Viewpoint and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren & Rickman, L.L.P.
The news of Jackson-Cohen’s casting was first reported by Deadline.