Marvel’s expansion of boundaries now lands them in the supernatural horror genre with Werewolf by Night where the studio gets free reign to explore the sensory-charged era of Dracula and Frankenstein. Although a very saturated yet successful trope, Marvel sets itself apart from the Hollywood obsession with scream-inducers by offering a classic tribute to the clash and contrast of light and sound in the B&W ’40s era horror movies.
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Werewolf by Night Receives Stunning Praise Before Launch
Designated to be a Halloween special, the horror thriller series is set to be Marvel Studios’ next project to go fully into the exploration mode, by allowing composer Michael Giacchino to test his hand at directing. And daresay, he did an incredible job as far as the trailer allows speculations. The Disney+ special will feature Gael García Bernal as Jack Russell, the character MCU introduced via Moon Knight, and Laura Donnelly as Elsa Bloodstone who is Jack’s counterpart, i.e. Vampire by Night.
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Although it is interesting to watch how MCU offers the segue into the supernatural with Werewolf by Night, it is not the first time we have witnessed the presence of that trope within mainstream MCU, the most recent being in Oscar Isaac‘s Moon Knight. The ground-breaking and boundary-pushing Phase 4 Disney+ series had introduced many themes into the fray, and though Egyptian gods make up for the series’ main attraction, Harrow’s monsters were another. The new special takes the trope one step further by committing itself to the story of vampires and werewolves in full effect.
Werewolf by Night Promises More Monsters in the MCU
The Marvel universe has been no stranger to the more culturally recognized monsters that lurk in the shadows. Vampires are an especially beloved bunch in the superhero franchise, with Marvel exploring Blade’s character almost a decade before starting to build the foundations of the now canonized cinematic universe. The Wesley Snipes movie was topped off with a trilogy and is now being considered for an acclaimed reboot with Mahershala Ali in the lead. Morbius too was another project that focused on the supernatural. Werewolf by Night‘s producer, Brian Gay claims,
“I think one of the very cool things about the special is it’s just peeling back the corner of monsters in the MCU, right? So there’s not just the monsters that are part of Werewolf by Night, but the ones that were up on the wall, there’s some of that artwork as well. What all this lends to is the idea that for centuries there have been monsters within the world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and they’ve been being tracked or hunted or kept at bay by these hunters. And I think, well, we don’t know exactly where they’ll pop up next, the idea is that, with this wide swath of different species and types, they’re going to pop up again. You’re going to see these guys in different ways, of course.”
Although this all serves as very exciting news, it’s also important to acknowledge the creator behind all of it — Michael Giacchino. The experienced composer, known famously for his work on The Batman and other musical compositions for Ratatouille, Zootopia, and Jurassic World, is debuting with his directorial venture at Marvel. If his horror show proves successful, it will pave the future path for MCU’s supernatural element to come out to the surface to play.
Werewolf by Night debuts on October 7, 2022, on Disney+.
Source: The Direct
