The night is chilly. A full moon peers out from amongst the clouds, beaming down upon the maze of rocks below. In a gloomy cavern, a group walk in, hooded and mysterious. As the room becomes more populated, the eyes of these… people, these hunters they were called, pierce the shadows. They stare up at a coffin. The chilly atmosphere soon turns to dread as it becomes a battle for survival. Twas the night Marvel Studios delved into the horror… and the spine-chilling terror of “Werewolf by Night!”
Starring Andrew Garfield Gael Garcia Bernal (“Old”, “Amores Perros”) and Laura Donnelly (“The Nevers”, “Tolkien”), “Werewolf By Night” follows a secret group of monster hunters as they gather at Bloodstone Manor following the death of their leader. As they engage in a mysterious and deadly competition for a powerful relic, their endeavours would bring them face to face with a dangerous monster.
With his upcoming feature set to debut on Disney+, we thought we’d journey up to the mountains and wait for the round satellite to let some chilling “AWOOOooooooos” into the valleys. And maybe cook up some fun facts up the super Lycan while we’re at it…
KEEPIN’ IT COMPOSED
Just like goalkeepers scoring a goal on the football field, it isn’t every day that you see a film composer make the jump to directing a project. As such, “Werewolf By Night” is that one unique occasion.
Taking the reins of this project is Michael Giacchino, who is best known for composing fan-favourite tunes for various films with the likes of “The Incredibles”, “Star Trek” and “The Batman” all under his belt. Over at the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Giacchino has more credits than any other composer, having done work for all three of Tom Holland’s solo films, the first “Dr Strange” feature, and most recently, “Thor: Love and Thunder”.
Whilst discussing his potential to direct something in the MCU, Kevin Feige himself was surprised that Giacchino wanted to be involved in “Werewolf By Night”. But as Feige loves crazy ideas, they soon came together quickly and secretly.
Speaking to the press after an advance screening of the feature, directing this project was something that can be attributed to fate. For Giacchino, he spent his Saturdays as a kid watching the “Creature Double Feature”. “Twilight Zone”, the famed anthological fantastical serial was also one that he particularly loved and he cited it as being an inspiration for how his direction would be.
“We have to think of this as an episode of ‘The Twilight Zone’… As you can tell, I’m sure, the “Werewolf by Night” special is a love letter to all of those things. It’s a complete love letter to all of them, for all the inspiration they gave me over the years.”, Giacchino said.
KEEPIN’ IT SHORT
This is the first Marvel Studios Special Presentation. While this is the first time that this term is being used, we don’t think it’ll be the last. Nevertheless, we believe this kind of presentation will be used to spotlight various characters and give them a one-shot-issue type of feature. Remember those One-Shots that Marvel Studios used to develop for Blu-Ray releases back then? Yeah, it kinda is like that.
We’re here to remind fans that “Werewolf By Night” is not a series. It is only a little over 50 minutes long and that’s it. Don’t tune in again for the next week expecting Daredevil to show up (sorry, “She-Hulk” ‘fans’).
Somehow, we think this sort of format would work for existing characters like Howard the Duck, or even to introduce more new characters like Bessie the Hellcow. Not sure why, but we’re just fascinated with the anthropomorphic animal side of the Marvel universe…
BLOODY NEW, BLOODY DIFFERENT
There is an unusual amount of gore in “Werewolf By Night” that further distinguishes it from the rest of the shared universe. Speaking to IGN, Giachinno admitted that he wanted to push the envelope in getting the horror and gore to the MCU.
“It was one of those things where no one said no… The big joke on set became when they would be like, ‘All right Michael, how is this? Is this good?’… I would start to say something, and they’d go, ‘You want more blood, right?'”, said Michael of his crew with regards to the crafting of violence on film.
So, how did this feature obtain a TV-14 rating? Indeed, getting this project graded in black and white somehow saved this project from getting a TV-MA rating. He did admit that a cautious air surrounded the production. There was always the question of whether they were able to get away with it. Would Disney or Marvel deem it too intense?
MCU (2022). DECOLOURISED
This project appears radically different from the rest of the shared cinematic universe in terms of its tone. In itself, the idea of having a full monochrome feature is indeed tantalising as it could allow for very stylistic storytelling. Indeed, it can be seen that “Werewolf By Night” takes inspiration from classic monster movies of the 1930s and 40s like “Werewolf of London”, “Dracula”, and the other Hammer Horror classics.
The initial idea was actually to shoot it in colour but Giachinno had some ideas of his own and decided to provide a secondary black and white cut. After showing said edit to Kevin Feige, the head honcho said “I think we have to release this in black and white, don’t we?”
OUT OF THE SHADOWS…
Did you know that the character known as Werewolf is actually half a century old? That means he predates characters like Thanos, Wolverine, The Punisher, Howard The Duck, and even the X-Men (not by a huge margin of course). Yet, he remains fairly… we wouldn’t say obscure, but more of a character placed in the backseat within this era.
First appearing in Marvel Spotlight #2, the character of Jack Russell was introduced once the Comics Code Authority loosened their grip on Lycan storytelling. This meant that characters like Jacob Black Jack Russell could now be added into Marvel’s storytelling sandbox. Initially, he operated exactly like a werewolf, transforming once the full moon rose, and possessing supernatural/superhuman abilities of such.
Despite his powers, he does have the standard weaknesses of a conventional Lycan. He is vulnerable to silver and can be hurt by magical attacks. Therefore, he’d be useless if he ever had to fight the Silver Surfer… (just kidding)
The funny thing about this was that some readers noted that Jack Russell was actually a canine breed. Yet, Gerry Conway, the guy who came up with the alter-ego for Werewolf dismissed the reference, stating that he consciously did not know of the connection especially since his family did not own a dog and had never lived with one.
A NEW MOON RISES
It is worth noting that a couple of characters made their debuts in a Werewolf by Night comic. Moon Knight, who had his TV show starring Oscar Isaac earlier this year, actually squared off against Jack Russell in his first appearance. Well, it’s kind of apt because you know… werewolves… moons, that sort of thing.
Another character of note is Tigra, who made an appearance this year in “Chip & Dale: Rescue Rangers” voiced by Liz Cackowski. Although the character already existed prior, she wasn’t actually known as Tigra until she teamed up with Werewolf in his comic. And guess what she was called before that? The Cat! Mew!
IT’S IN THE GAME
We’ve had multiple adaptations of various game properties before like “Sonic”, “Rampage”, and “Resident Evil”. And yes, even those childhood games like truth-or-dare and tag have seen some live-action versions, some exaggerated, some stupefying. Of course, the game of Werewolf itself has seen its fair share of adaptations – one might even count Andrew Garfield’s performance on Jimmy Fallon and the Happy Sad Confused Podcast as one of them (heehee).
In the teaser trailer, it is explained that there is a killer hidden amongst the group of hunters. One of the hunters, Verusa declares that during this night, it is every man or woman for themselves. “But one of you is a monster, masquerading as one of our own“. It’s exactly how a game of Werewolf operates.
Since we are the audience, the intrigue of not knowing the characters, how they operate, and when the werewolf will strike will certainly be a great use of the concept. It’s not like it’s a game using established characters like Hulk and Spider-Man. Speaking of which, seeing the Avengers play werewolf would be kind of a neat scene to have…
WOLF-MAN AND THE MONSTERS OF THE UNIVERSE
Recently, Kevin Feige has spoken up about “Werewolf By Night” and has gone on record to state that the project will help open up new possibilities for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is a new beginning, with the seeds introduced being quite important for the future of the shared universe.
What is that world exactly? That folks… is the world of monsters.
That’s not to say that these literal monsters have not been operating prior to the Multiverse or that sort of thing. Rather, this feature is a gateway or a path for audiences to discover that they have been there for a very long time. Characters like The Living Mummy, Grogg, The Abominable Snowman, and other vampires could eventually be given time to shine both as formidable foes and misunderstood creatures.
SPELLING IT OUT
“Werewolf By Night” will feature the return of the sinister book known as the Darkhold. First appearing (canonically) in “WandaVision” and further being used in “Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness”.
Gael García Bernal’s version of Jack Russell differs from the comic whereby he is not bitten by a werewolf. Instead, he inherits a curse of lycanthropy from his ancestors. How?
Well, if we look at his history, some guy named Gregor Russoff decided to wake a dormant curse until the full light of the moon with the Darkhold! From then on, the curse passed on until it reached Jack in the present. However, this now begs the question… Did the first Werewolf have a third eye like Dr Strange now? We’ll find out soon enough.
DO YOU WANNA BUILD A SNOWMAN?
Whilst the name itself is pretty synonymous with a beloved Ice Queen over the past decade, another Elsa has been making waves in Marvel Comics in recent times. And she’s not here to build snowmen…
One of the actors placed front and centre in the trailer is Laura Donnelly. Sporting a trenchcoat and knee-high boots, she is one of the hunters who eventually gets trapped with the Werewolf. Friends, that is the badass hunter known as Elsa Bloodstone.
Born to Elise and Ulysses Bloodstone, this badass monster hunter was trained to pursue horrifying creatures ever since she was a baby. What makes her badass is the ammunition she carries as she prowls the hunting grounds. As far as powers go, she has the superhuman standard that a lot of other super-folk have with the added bonus of immunity toward vampire bites. Sorry, Morbius. You can’t morb this one.
FLORIDA MAN EMPATHIZES WITH CANINE IN A TOMB
One of the monsters featured in the trailer is a very familiar face to long-time Marvel fans. With his hulking build and distinct plantlike features, Man-Thing walks the swamps of Florida’s Everglades.
Introduced as Dr. Ted Sallis, he became known as the Man-Thing in a series of dire events. You see, Dr Sallis had been working on a recreation of Steve Rogers’ Super Soldier Serum. However, after working in the Everglades, he was betrayed and surrounded. In a last-ditch effort, he injects himself with the serum he created but crashes his car into the swamp.
During that point, magic and science combine to transform him into a creature with large red eyes. Ted Sallis fades out from existence at that point and is effectively dead. His brain and cells become scattered in an unpredictable manner that stripped most of his humanity away and turned him into a supernatural force unlike any other.
Man-Thing has the immaculate psychic and magical ability to sense ambient fear as his brain cells are scattered throughout his body. With that, he would become incensed and would secrete a powerful acid-like substance that would burn his victims. Such a substance is potent enough to corrode even the most durable of individuals.
Man-Thing is generally a tough nut to crack and is pretty hard to communicate with. Despite the horrific nature of his existence, he is somehow able to discern between innocence and crime, good and evil, and be the executioner when necessary. At times, he has also performed heroic acts and saved people from certain death.
There is also another aspect of Man-Thing which is worth noting. He is known as the Guardian of the Nexus as the swamp where he resided is actually the Nexus of Realities. Now, this is a place where all realities could be accessed, similar to the place The Watcher resided in “What If…?”. Being the guardian of such a place also grants him a load of mystical powers and benefits.
Man-Thing’s appearance in “Werewolf By Night” is actually his second live-action feature. Back in 2005, there was a movie with Man-Thing as the monster antagonist starring “Jessica Jones”‘ Rachael Taylor. Developed by the then Sci-Fi Channel (now SyFy), it was basically a supernatural monster horror film in a swamp. And yeah, it was a doozy like all these other SyFy productions.
Will Man-Thing will retain his comics backstory for the MCU? It remains to be seen. Regardless, he’s finally getting his dues and we can’t wait to see what comes next from him!
WHAT TIME IS IT MR WOLF?
In the trailer footage, it can be noted that there are a bunch of Time Variance Authority agents in “Werewolf By Night”. The distinct black helmets and Timesticks can be seen as these TVA Agents attack Jack Russell, probably attempting to prune him or keep him at bay.
However, what are they doing there? We don’t actually know. Is Jack Russell causing a branch in time that was not in line with the Sacred Timeline?
Will Loki pull up in the special feature? We doubt that as he’s off with his own problems which will be saved for Season 2 of that show. As of now, we shall wait and see what TVA are up to in the world of monsters. Or probably they just wanted to ask Mr Wolf the time…
IT’S MORBIN’ TIME?
The appearance of Elsa Bloodstone and now Man-Thing further solidifies the idea of a Midnight Sons team-up. First created by Ghost Riders Danny Ketch and Johnny Blaze to take down a great supernatural threat, the first iteration consisted of Blade, Hannibal King, Morbius, and Vengeance (no not Battinson).
Though varying in its roster, the Midnight Sons typically consisted of heroes who dabbled or fought with supernatural forces. Like the Avengers, the line-up has changed over the years. Nevertheless, major names like Elsa Bloodstone, Dr Strange, Dr Voodoo, Iron Fist, Man-Thing, and Wong have all joined in at some point.
Fun tidbit, Morbius even leads a group of the Midnight Sons at one point. Wonder what he called it… Morbin’ Rangers? All in all, the future looks bright. Who knows? We might even have a tease to such a team-up at its end.
“Werewolf by Night” will terrify audiences on Disney+ this 7th October.
