By George Bate
The first Marvel Studios Halloween special will debut this October, as announced by Kevin Feige during D23 Expo 2022.
The long rumored Werewolf By Night will star Gael Garcia Bernal and is directed by Michael Giacchino, famous for scoring the likes of Up, The Batman, and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Werewolf By Night looks to be unlike anything we’ve seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date. That sort of statement comes up a lot with the MCU and is admittedly overused. But it’s difficult to not proclaim just how different Werewolf By Night looks when compared to other MCU projects.
This is a black and white horror film. No flying Gods, Iron Man armor, quick witted humor, or cameo appearances. There’s a style about the trailer that evokes the Universal horror movies of the 1930s and 1940s, such as The Wolf Man and Dracula. The film is grainy and little imperfections show up from time to time.
Giacchino noted that Poltergeist and Indiana Jones, movies that are equal parts fun and scary, influenced the new Halloween special for Marvel Studios. Indeed, Feige called the tone of the special, “Fun scary.”
Werewolf By Night is inspired by a Marvel comic series of the same name. The comic stars Jack Russell, a man who was born cursed as a werewolf like his ancestors before him. In the comics, Russell’s family was cursed by none other than Dracula himself.
In the comics, Russell crosses paths with the Avengers and Spider-Man, but is decidedly different from these superhero characters. Russell has more in common with David Kessler in An American Werewolf in London or Lawrence Talbot in The Wolf Man.
There also appears to be an intriguing Agatha Christie influence to the new Marvel Studios special. A character makes a comment suggesting there is a mystery as to who is a monster among them. The audience may know this is Russell, but the others don’t. And, in Marvel fashion, expect there to be more twists and turns to this werewolf tale.
The first trailer and poster for Werewolf By Night can be seen below.
Werewolf By Night premieres October 7 on Disney+.