Entertainment Weekly has just unveiled the first two photos (second pic after the jump) of Benicio Del Toro as The Wolfman, along with a pretty sweet interview with famed makeup artist Rick Baker on how he went about updating the look 67 years after the first big-screen Wolfman hit theaters. Joe Johnston (Jurassic Park 3) directs this latest version, which also stars Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving. The makeup looks absolutely insane; especially in the second photo which creeps the living hell out of me. Do we even need to tell you the story? Dude becomes a wolfman and craziness ensues. Unfortunately, we'll have to wait all the way until February 13, 2009 to watch this sucker come to life in theaters.

Head over to EW to check out larger versions of each pic, as well as to read that Rick Baker interview.

I know I bitch and moan about horror remakes all the time, but every once in a while there comes a project that melts my cynicism and gets me all geeky. Universal's impending rendition of The Wolf Man is one such project, and I'm basing my early opinions on a few cool factors:

1. Benicio del Toro is going to star, and that's what I call good casting. OK, and this Anthony Hopkins guy is pretty solid, too.
2. Mark Romanek is directing, and if you've ever seen One Hour Photo (or, better yet, this DVD) then you know that's a good thing.
3. The screenplay comes from Andrew Kevin Walker, also known as the man who wrote the blisteringly awesome Seven and one very cool version of Sleepy Hollow.

And now, courtesy of CHUD.com, I have a fourth reason to get excited for this new version of The Wolf Man: The mega-hot and seriously talented Emily Blunt has been (almost) cast as the female lead. (Probably best known for a great supporting turn in The Devil Wear Prada, Ms. Blunt appeared in no less than four films this year: Wind Chill, The Jane Austen Book Club, Dan in Real Life and Charlie Wilson's War.) Plus, like I said, she's really pretty with a powerfully sexy accent.

Unfortunately the new Wolf Man isn't scheduled to make his big-screen appearance until February of '09 -- which will give us plenty of time to bring you all the newest developments.

No, not Guillermo Del Toro! That guy's busy enough! I'm talking about the Oscar-winning bad-ass actor known as Benicio Del Toro. A while back we informed you that the guy would be starring in a new version of The Wolf Man for Universal. and director Mark Romanek. Well, the flick is still on the way (fortunately), but Benny has some other projects to get through first -- including two Soderbergh films in which he'll play Che Guevara!

But back to the wolfy stuff. Del Toro will play Lawrence Talbot in Romanek's new rendition, and the behind-the-scenes info just keeps getting better and better. Not only does the adaptation come from the man who wrote Seven and Sleepy Hollow -- but according to the actor (and the MTV Movies Blog) the legendary Anthony Hopkins has just joined the cast. It's been a rumor up till now, but the actor semi-confirms it: "I think so," he says. Universal seems to have May 2009 penciled in for the return of The Wolf Man, but why not bump it a few months? A big-budget Wolf Man re-do ... that's got the Halloween season written all over it.

It seems crazy to me that studios "claim" release dates two and three years before the movies come out. I understand that it builds up anticipation, but hanging a release date over filmmakers' heads can't help the end result. For example, I attended a screening of the director's cut of Troy the other night (very cool), with director Wolfgang Petersen introducing. He discussed how at test screenings he realized the score of the film wasn't working. He wound up replacing it in a huge rush to make the release date, and it became one of many aspects of the final film he was unhappy with. Why not just give directors time to make the films they want instead of all the "starting without a finished script" -type stuff that goes on? Well, two upcoming movies -- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (or as I call it, TCONTVOTDT -- it just flows better) and The Wolf Man -- seem to be doing just that.

Prince Caspian, the second Narnia adventure, is still set for release this May, but TCONTVOTDT has been moved from May 1st, 2009, to May 7th, 2010. Taking its place on the '09 date is something called G-Force, "a Jerry Bruckheimer family-adventure about a band of animal commandoes trying to stop an evil billionaire taking over the world." If that plot description is any indication, Summer '09 is going to be a magical time at the cineplex! Mark Romanek's The Wolf Man, with Benicio del Toro in the title role, is being moved from November 18th, 2008 to Spring 2009. I love del Toro, and am really looking forward to that one. I wonder if the notoriously hairy Robin Williams was considered for Wolf Man? Might have saved money on makeup. Reasons have not been given for the release date changes, but Empire speculates that it likely has something to do with the actor's strike that could shake up the industry next June. Hopefully, putting some extra time and care into these movies will be a good thing.

It always amazes me how far in advance a studio can plan its release schedule. I understand that really, really big tentpole blockbusters need to reserve certain dates, as Paramount just did with its fourth installment of Indiana Jones. Some weekends, particularly those in the summertime, are very desirable. But considering that most of the films Universal has just penciled in for 2008 haven't even begun shooting yet, it seems a bit silly to think about when to expect to see them in theaters. Nevertheless...

Here the studio's list of announced release dates for 2008:

• March 28: Wanted - Chris first told us about this comic book adaptation, the Hollywood debut of Russian director Timur Bekmambetov starring Morgan Freeman and James McAvoy, back in November. As far as I know, it hasn't begun filming yet.
  
• June 13: The Incredible Hulk - They're still casting for this comic book reboot. So far we only know that Dominic Purcell is not playing the lead. Chris already mentioned this was set for June 27, but Universal has moved it up to avoid competition with Disney/Pixar's Wall-E.
  
• July 11: The Mummy 3 - Jessica just told us that the cast is still negotiating this one. Erik spoke directly to Brendan Fraser, who didn't seem to know exactly what was going on yet. It may begin production this summer.
  
• July 18: Mamma Mia! - Erik gave us the news a month ago that the Broadway hit will be adapted to film. A day later he added that Meryl Streep would star. Warner Bros.' The Dark Knight is also scheduled for this date, so while Mom and Sis are enjoying all the ABBA music, you and Dad can be next door watching Batman.
  
• August 1: Hellboy 2: The Golden Army - We've been hearing about this sequel for years, and for awhile Mark was issuing updates around the clock. Now it looks like Del Toro will begin shooting this Spring.
  
• November 14: The Wolf Man - Now that Scott has pointed out it has a director, another of Universal's monster movie reboots is good to go.