Marvel Studios officially confirmed at D23 that the previously announced Halloween special is set for Disney+ used to be Werewolf at night. The title has been rumored since the project was announced in 2021, but the character was officially announced as a member of the MCU with the special set to be broadcast on October 7, 2022.
In the vast catalog of Marvel characters, Werewolf by Night was certainly not a character that many would likely have pinned down for a live-action treatment anytime soon, and it seems almost impossible to imagine this happening at the start of the MCU. The decision to do Werewolf by Night even surprised Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige when the idea was first launched. But now it’s not just going to be part of the MCU Phase 4, but seems to be something completely different from the entire franchise.
But who is Werewolf by Night, and why is Marvel Studios introducing this character into their cinematic universe now? How does a traditional monster fit into the world of Marvel superheroes? Can a monster be a superhero? Werewolf by Night can run in both worlds, but he could also be a more important part of the MCU future than anyone expects. This is an overview of Werewolf by Night and how a monster can be a superhero.
Comic books Werewolf by Night is based on
In the 1970s, when the Comics Code Authority began to relax its restrictions on supernatural and paranormal monsters, which had been banned from comics for two decades, Marvel jumped at the chance to publish a werewolf-themed comic. Conceived by Roy Thomas, a title suggested by Stan Lee, and elaborated and created by Jeanie Thomas, Gerry Conway and Mike Ploog, Werewolf by Night first premiered Marvel Spotlight #2 in 1972 and would later get its own title running from 1972 to 1977 for 43 songs. The series is notable for introducing the character of Moon Knight, who quickly overtook Werewolf by Night in popularity.
Werewolf by Night follows a man named Jack Russell. Russell’s family has a curse on them; for the three nights of the month when the full moon shines, he is forced to transform into a werewolf in typical lycanthrope fashion. He usually travels from city to city, similar to Bruce Banner (aka The Incredible Hulk), fighting threats in the various cities he visits.
In 2020, Marvel published a new Werewolf at night comic featuring a new protagonist, Jack Gomez, a boy of Hopi descent who underwent his first werewolf transformation at age 13 due to a curse in his family. This version was created by Black-Eyed Peas member Taboo along with Benjamin Jackendoff and Scot Eaton.
Werewolf at Night Supporting Characters
Werewolf by Night has crossed paths with many characters, especially those in the supernatural side of the franchise. As previously mentioned, Marvel hero Moon Knight first appeared in a Werewolf by Night comic and the two characters have had a number of crossovers. Werewolf by Night has also collaborated with supernatural themed heroes such as Blade, Man-Thing, and Ghost Rider. The character has also been on a number of supernatural themed teams, including the Legion of Monsters and the Midnight Sons.
The Marvel universe is so vast that he has also met many traditional superheroes such as Spider-Man, Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk. Werewolf by Night was even killed by Deadpool when the ‘merc with a mouth’ found him in bed with his wife Shiklah, but she informed Deadpool that Werewolf by Night would just come back to life.
Previous Werewolf By Night adaptations
While not a big name like The Hulk or Spider-Man, Werewolf by Night has still been modified several times over the years and until recently more modified than Shang-Chi and Eternals. Werewolf by Night has appeared in a number of different Marvel animation projects, usually alongside other supernatural themed characters such as Blade and Man-Thing. He appeared in The Superhero Squad Show, where he was voiced by legendary voice actor Robert Paulson. He then later appeared on the Disney XD Ultimate Spider Man cartoon voiced by Ross Lynch, where he was part of Nick Fury’s paranormal monster team The Howling Commandos. A similar version appeared on Hulk and the agents of SMASH voiced by Nolan North.
An attempt at a Werewolf at night movie was launched in 2005 with Chocolate screenwriter Robert Nelson Jacobs was supposed to write the script, but the project never materialized. The character only regained traction with the announcement of the Disney+ Halloween special.
Disney+ at Night
The upcoming Halloween special is directed by Academy Award-winning composer Michael Giacchino. The special will focus on a secret group of monster hunters who gather at Bloodstone Castle (with Laura Donnelly playing the comic book character Elsa Bloodstone) after the death of their leader and participate in a mysterious and deadly competition for a powerful relic, one of which is a werewolf. This special turns out to be a fun riff on the popular party game Werewolf and a tribute to the universal monster movies of the 1930s and 1940s.
Gael Garcia Bernal will play Jack Russell’s incarnation of Werewolf by Night. The trailer also showcased Man-Thing’s MCU debut, hinting at both Agents of SHIELD and Thor: Ragnarok.
Future of Werewolf in the MCU
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Many of the main connections to Werewolf by Night in the comics have become important parts of the MCU, particularly in Phase 4. The Russell family’s werewolf curse stems from the Darkhold, the evil book featured in both. WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. In the comics, it was one of Jack Russell’s ancestors who turned the Darkhold into a book, and the MCU determined that the Darkhold book was a copy of the text written on Mount Wundagore.
MCU Phase 4 is also filled with supernatural themed characters. Moon Knight made his MCU debut in 2022, played by Oscar Isaac. Blade will join the Marvel Cinematic Universe, played by two-time Academy Award-winning actor Mahershala Ali, when his film hits theaters on November 3, 2023. With Werewolf by Night, Man-Thing and Elsa Bloodstone all joining the MCU and the interesting timing of the video game midnight Sun, it could be an indication that Marvel Studios is building a team of their various supernatural-themed heroes in a future project. Both Werewolf by Night and Man-Thing were even highlighted in the poster for the upcoming Avengers ride at Disney California Adventure. It looks like this Halloween special is just the beginning of Werewolf by Night’s time in the MCU, and probably another case of Marvel Studios taking a lesser-known ownership and making it a household name.