Teen Wolf star Tyler Hoechlin discusses what it was like to return for a movie adaptation as both star and producer. The Teen Wolf series, which was itself an adaptation of the 1985 Michael J. Fox horror-comedy of the same name, premiered on MTV on June 5, 2011 and eventually ran for 6 seasons and 100 total episodes. The series followed high schooler Scott McCall (Tyler Posey) being bitten by a werewolf and defending the town of Beacon Hills, California from many supernatural and mortal threats along with his friends. Teen Wolf also starred Dylan O'Brien as his best friend Stiles Stilinski, Crystal Reed as his original love interest Allison Argent, and Tyler Hoechlin as the more established werewolf Derek Hale, who initially has friction with Scott.
In February of this year, it was officially announced that a Teen Wolf movie follow-up was in development after the series' original ending in 2017. Since then, production has already commenced and wrapped, with an eye for a release on the streaming service Paramount+. The film was helmed by series creator Jeff Davis, who will also be in charge of the spin-off series Wolf Pack, which the movie will be leading into. In addition to the return of Posey as Scott, the alpha who must face off against a new and terrifying threat, the returning cast members include Reed, Hoechlin, Colton Haynes, Dylan Sprayberry, and Linden Ashby, who played Sheriff Noah Stilinski, the father of Stiles.
While Hoechlin was appearing on the red carpet of The CW's upfront presentation in New York City, TVLine took a moment to ask him about the upcoming Teen Wolf film. When asked what it was like to have his third fictional teen son onscreen (after his two sons from Superman & Lois), the actor praised his co-star Vince Mattis. As a producer, Hoechlin had a hand in casting Mattis, and he says that it was "rewarding" to "give [someone] their shot and then see them perform so well," in addition to the general happiness he had at getting to reunite with his friends from the Teen Wolf universe. Read his full quote below:
It was great! Vince Mattis. Great kid, great actor, he worked phenomenally hard, I’m so proud of him. It was really really fun. Obviously, you know, producing this one, being part of the casting process, and things like that, it was so fun.
I’ve been there. I started when I was such a young kid in this business. To be on the other side of it now, and to see someone and give them their shot and then see them perform so well was such a great and rewarding thing. I’m happy for him and obviously it was just great to be back on the set with everybody. You know, a lot of my best friends in the world are from that show so, it was good. I’m excited for the fans. They’ve been asking for something for a long time, so I’m glad we can give them something.
Mattis will be playing Derek's son Eli Hale, about whom not much is currently known. The young actor got his start in a small part in the 2018 Bumhouse slasher Halloween opposite Jamie Lee Curtis and Judy Greer. Since then, he has only held three major roles, so Hoechlin is certainly proving to be an invaluable mentor and champion. If the Teen Wolf film goes well for Mattis, he could very well end up being one of the major leads in Wolf Pack, following in the footsteps of his fictional father.
Hoechlin being able to both reunite with his Teen Wolf contemporaries and pass the torch along to the next generation is a perfect encapsulation of his character's role in the universe as well. Hopefully, the experience is so rewarding that he'll be able to pop in from time to time on the follow-up series as well. The fans who are already delighted by his appearance in the upcoming film would certainly be over the moon at that prospect.
Source: TVLine