— November 7, 2021
According to new reports Gael Garcia Bernal, most recently seen in M Night Shyamalan’s Old, has joined the cast of Marvel’s Halloween Special as Werewolf by Night. The character has long been rumored to be heading to the MCU in some capacity, but as yet we don’t know which version will be seen on screen. While the smart lycanthrope has gone under the name of Jack Russell, who was originally created by Gerry Conway and Mike Ploog, he was later a new character called Jake Gomez, a Hopi Native American who inherited the curse as part of his family lineage.
While there have been attempts to bring Werewolf by Night into a live-action movie since around 2005, the character has so far only appeared in animated form in numerous shows such as Ultimate Spider-Man, Hulk, and Agents of S.M.A.S.H., and The Super Hero Squad Show, but until Marvel and Disney decided that half a dozen movies a year isn’t enough and they wanted to also add in a few TV series as well, any kind of solo project featuring Marvel’s first werewolf had been buried like a dog’s bone.
According to The Wrap, the previously mysterious Halloween special from Marvel Studios will now be focussed on the Werewolf by Night and his introduction to the MCU and Gael García Bernal has been cast in the role. The production is currently expected to begin filming sometime in early 2022, but beyond that, the project is yet another mystery in the future of Marvel’s upcoming slate. Ever since the Halloween special was listed as one of the in-development projects coming into Marvel’s radar, Werewolf by Night has been strongly rumored to be the subject of the Disney+ show, especially when it was announced that a casting search had begun for a Latino male.
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Other rumors of Werewolf by Night’s imminent arrival into the MCU began to circulate when Kevin Smith revealed that he had not been allowed to use the character in his planned but now defunct Howard the Duck series because Marvel’s movie arm had plans to use it. As many comic book fans will point out, the timing also fits with some other upcoming projects on Marvel’s roster, namely Moon Knight and Blade, who have both been known to frequently cross paths with the lycanthrope and worked together as part of the Midnight Sons. While there has been no hint that Werewolf by Night will feature the currently filming Moon Knight series, which stars Ethan Hawke as its villain opposite Oscar Isaac, but there could be a good chance of him being hinted at in the new Blade movie, as there is currently very little known about the plot of that eagerly anticipated project.
One thing that is clear is that the Marvel Universe is seemingly embracing its dark side with some of its upcoming shows and movies, with Deadpool 3 somewhere in the future, Blade and Moon Knight also bringing some darker characters to screens and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness being cited as the “MCU’s first horror movie,” for those who have been waiting for something more adult from Marvel, it looks like that time is coming sooner rather than later. This news was first reported by TheWrap.
Old Star Gael Garcia Bernal to Lead Marvel’s Werewolf by Night Halloween Special
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