It’s official! The fourth and final installment of the Hotel Transylvania franchise, Hotel Transylvania 4: Transformania is on the way.
Fans of the Hotel Transylvania series will know that up until now, we’ve only been able to recognise the Invisible Man – AKA Griffin – by a dark pair of floating glasses.
Now, in a new trailer for Hotel Transylvania 4: Transformania, Griffin’s physical appearance is finally revealed.
A major plot point for the new movie is that humans are transformed into monsters, and vice versa.
As Griffin transforms into a human, his powers of invisibility are no more – revealing a tall man with curly red hair, a bald patch and of course, his iconic glasses.
He also appears naked – why would an invisible man worry about clothes?
Who is the Invisible Man in Hotel Transylvania?
Voiced by David Spade, the Invisible Man, otherwise known as Griffin, first appears as one of the guests staying at the Hotel Transylvania for Mavis’ 118th birthday, where he plays the drums in a band for the party.
A prominent character in the series, Griffin is a friend of Dracula and is one of the monsters who helps Dracula get to Jonathan.
While he uses his invisibility as an advantage in fights, he often seems to forget he’s invisible. This is evident when he expects people to know what hair color he has, and gets embarrassed when his swimming trunks are pulled down, despite that nobody can actually see him.
While the character was directly inspired by the invisible man from the science-fiction novel of the same name by H.G. Wells, Hotel Transylvania’s reincarnation takes on a more comedic role.
Fans react to Invisible Man reveal
The reveal has left many fans feeling underwhelmed, and have inevitably sparked some hilarious reactions on Twitter.
“R.I.P. Invisible Man from Hotel Transylvania. He’s not dead but I wish he was,” wrote one disappointed fan.
While another suggested, “All I’m sayin’ is if we could bully Sony into changing Sonic maybe we have a chance with the Invisible Man.”
“Reminder that the Hotel Transylvania creators had the chance to make the Invisible Man hot but he looks like this,” another weighed in.
Adam Sandler not to return as the voice of Dracula
While the majority of the cast is returning, including fan-favorite Andy Samberg as Jonathan, one cast member is notably absent.
In April 2021, Sony announced that Adam Sandler would not be reprising his role as Count Dracula – better known as Drac.
While Sandler was an executive producer on the first three films, he will not even be working on the producing side for the final movie.
Unfortunately, Sony has offered no explanation behind the actor’s departure, and neither has Sandler himself.
Meanwhile, Brian Hull has replaced Adam Sandler as the voice of Drac, having previously voiced the character in the short film, Monster Pets.
Despite the change, directors Jennifer Kluska and Derek Drymon revealed that the plot allowed them to comfortably make the change in actors.
Speaking to Screen Rant, Drymon said, “The fact that he turns into a human was a good opportunity to do things a little differently. He could be a little different than he was in the movies, and it would be natural. So, it kind of was the perfect movie to have a person come in and fill those shoes.”
Kluska added, “We started with the design, and how do we make that character feel as different as possible. He’s not going to animate the same; he’s not going to look the same. And it felt like embracing Brian and, more specifically, embracing what the difference in that would be as a human. It felt like it was a great opportunity.”
Hotel Transylvania 4: Transformania is expected to premiere in theaters on July 23, 2021.