It’s no denying that Gael Garcia Bernal is a major get for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and many wondered just how he ended up getting a role in a Universal/Hammer-inspired monster flick for Disney. As it turns out, he was actually offered the role directly by long-time Marvel composer and now director, Michael Giacchino. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the Werewolf by Night actor reveals how he got the role for the series and what it was like joining the Marvel family.
It was a direct invitation from [director-composer] Michael Giacchino, and I immediately said yes. It was fantastic to have the opportunity to interpret this character. There are a lot of tangents and a lot of places that this character or this world can lead to. So as soon as Michael told me what he wanted to do and the way he wanted to approach it, I said, “Yeah, let’s do this!” So it’s been great, and I feel really lucky to be in this world of Marvel because of their know-how and infrastructure. We also got to try things out and experiment. So we were taken care of, and I can’t wait to do more with this great opportunity.
Gael Garcia Bernal
The actor also highlighted how having his friend, fellow Disney actor Diego Luna, join him on this journey. He highlighted how he was a great support during his time at D23 when they announced the Werewolf by Night Special Presentation.
When we were at the D23 conference, he was the one who explained to me what was happening because it was my first time. It was quite crazy. But it was fascinating to be around all these other projects and people, and doing a press conference and press junket, in a sense, with all these different films and TV series was incredible. I wish all premieres were like that where the films and series are combined. So it’s been great to have a good friend who’s also living something similar as well.
Diego Luna
Perhaps this might open the doors to Luna also crossing into a new franchise as he’s set to wrap his work on Andor‘s second and final season next year. With more monsters making the rounds within the MCU, perhaps he could join the horror side of the franchise and have these two actors reunite on screen. Of course, we don’t know yet what the future has in store for Bernal in the MCU and hopefully, it won’t be too long before we find out.
Werewolf by Night has finally found its way to Disney+. Marvel Studios has long kept mum on the project until D23 when they announced the project and the first teaser confirmed that a long-time Marvel character is finally making his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut. No, not the titular Werewolf but rather the quite popular Man-Thing. He also quickly became a fan favorite after the series’ release and a new behind-the-scenes image from the production has found its way online hinting that the character was practical.
In the BTS image shared by @halldehqs on Twitter, we get a look at the crew including director Michael Giacchino. What sticks out is the giant Man-Thing that is towering behind the crew with glowing red eyes. While there definitely was some CG use in the series, it looks like they had an actual practical suit on the set to bring the character to life. It definitely is a surprise given how Marvel makes use of CG for larger-than-life characters.
Giacchino did hint that they tried to take as many practical directions as they can. So, the fact that the character everyone assumed would be mostly CG had an actual suit is impressive. It’ll be interesting to see if perhaps the productions start integrating more practical elements moving forward, as Marvel Studios has always had the tendency to learn from each project they’ve worked on. We’ll have to see if we might see more of it in other Special Presentations moving forward as well.
Nicholaus Hoult may have been getting addicted to vampire stories, as while he’s been busy working on the Dracula retelling Renfield, where he stars opposite Nicolas Cage. Now, he has seemingly joined the upcoming Nosferatu retelling by The Northman‘s Robert Eggers. From the sounds of it, he is still in negotiations for a role and would join the cast that currently consists of Bill Skarsgard and Lily-Rose Depp.
The story is teased as a “gothic tale of obsession” that takes place in 19th century Germany, as a Transylvanian vampire haunts a young woman. They tease that he brings “untold horror with him” which might hint at more than just the vampire being the main threat throughout. Skarsgard would take on the role of Nosferatu while Depp will take on the female lead. Hoult‘s character remains under wraps.
Eggers has long hoped to bring this project to life, as he originally was going to film it before he ended up with his Viking project, The Northman. Anya Taylor-Joy and Harry Styles were attached to the project when it was with Studio 8 but due to budget concerns, the project didn’t quite come together. He almost passed on the gothic tale but seemingly fell back in love with the
Werewolf By Night’s debut on Disney Plus is extraordinarily timed. Not just because it’s a few weeks out from Halloween, but also because it comes at a time when the MCU is under heavy criticism from fans who can’t seem to get a handle on where “things are headed” in the Multiverse Saga. While the Special Presentation may not give fans any clarity on that issue, there is not doubt that Werewolf By Night knows EXACTLY what it is and, on a larger scale, what horror in the MCU could be.
Michael Giacchino is a legendary composer, arguably the greatest of his generation; however, he had never taken the reigns as a director on a project as large as Werewolf By Night before. Given that relative inexperience, fans understandably questioned if the cut of his jib was right for a feature-length project. Now that audiences can see and digest the project, only the most contrarian of critics would make the argument that Giacchino didn’t just “handle it”, but put together one of Marvel Studios’ most unique and artistic projects in its impressive history. And he did so because he knew exactly what he wanted it to be.
A wonderful homage to the Universal Classic Monster films, Werewolf By Night reconciles century-old sensibilities into cinema’s modern-day monster. Giacchino is as much a fan of those old horror films as we all are of the MCU; they live inside his mind. The result of that is a finished product where nothing feels forced or out of place because it’s all an expression of a project that Giacchino not only wanted to make, but that he’d likely been making in his head, in some form or another, for years. And in true MCU fashion, he made something that serves not only as a one-off masterpiece but could serve to create a brand new corner of the MCU that’s populated with beautiful characters and stories for a decade. And if that is indeed the plan as laid out by Marvel Studios One-Above-All and the Parliament, then this project should have convinced them to allow Giacchino to be its architect.
Kevin Fiege and the Parliament are busy, busy people. The studio now produces a minimum of six projects a year and as we move further away from the COVID shutdowns of productions, that number could increase. In a situation like that, having an experienced person on a project can save each of the executive producers a great deal of time and Giacchino has as much experience as anyone. Should he write, direct and compose every horror project for Marvel Studios? Absolutely not. But he should write, direct and compose as many as he can and wants to and should be the point person for every one that he does not. Werewolf By Night has defined Marvel Studios’ horror in a very unique way, one that obviously can still be enjoyed by fans of all ages. To ensure that each subsequent horror project stays on brand, it would be wise to have Giacchino acting as at least a consultant, making sure there’s some continuity between them.
What’s next for the MCU in terms of horror? Beyond Blade, the studio has made no official announcements. Rumors of a Ghost Rider project have come and gone for years; the debut of Moon Knight has fans dreaming of the Midnight Sons; Werewolf By Night leaves the door open to a Legion of Monsters project. With Blade on the hunt for a director, could Giacchino quickly jump on board that project and help new writer Beau DeMayo craft a story that would fit seamlessly with Werewolf By Night? Would he even want to be? For Feige and company, there’s only one way to find out and at this point, it would seem they’d at least make an overture. Giacchino has created something that feels as important as any project Marvel Studios has put out in Phase 4. As they continue to bring back creatives from other projects to work on either successive or associated projects, it would be a shame if they didn’t do the same with Giacchino, who could be to horror what Michael Waldron is to the MCU multiverse.
The Midnight Club is based on a series of books by author Christopher Pike. It tells the story of teenagers, all with terminal illnesses, who go to live out the rest of their lives at Brightcliffe Hospice. During their time at the hospice, the residents sneak out of their rooms late at night to take part in something called the Midnight Club. In this club, they share various stories all with the goal of trying to entertain/spook their fellow hospice patients. Simple premise, sure, and yet the series is so much more than merely a series of ghost tales.
The series adaptation stars Iman Benson as Ilonka, a young girl who was once readying to start college at Stanford University, but her plans are tossed out the door after a cancer diagnosis. After doing her best to fight it in hopes of getting her life back on track, Ilonka looks into other forms of treatment in an act of desperation. During her research, she stumbles upon Brightcliffe Hospice and a mysterious girl whose story will change her life going forward.
Those going into The Midnight Club with little knowledge of the books should know this isn’t necessarily a horror series. There will be some thrills occasionally, yes, but this is more of an emotional story than anything — and that’s a good thing. But it’s also something that works against it at times. As enjoyable as The Midnight Club is, it is often bogged down by depressing moments with very little moments of hope sewn throughout. Of course, a story about teens with terminal illnesses is unlikely to be hopeful, but sometimes the constant sense of dread can be emotionally draining. (Episode 7, in particular, packs a hell of an emotional punch.) Still, even with this, the show is worth watching, although, forgoing the usual weekend binge might provide the optimal viewing experience.
Perhaps one of the most exciting aspects of The Midnight Club is getting to see the main cast act out the spooky stories being told during the club. The young cast is incredibly talented and in the moments they get to explore these new characters, they seem to get lost in the stories. The ability to swiftly change personas is not an easy one, and yet, every single member of the Midnight Club does just that as they become the victims — and sometimes the killers — in the stories being told.
All in all, The Midnight Club is an emotional ride full of thrills and chills that will easily become a Halloween classic. It’s a “horror” series that focuses on learning to live while we’re still alive and building the families we so desperately need to survive. Just be prepared to have tissues on hand.
Disney+ may have kicked off its streaming service with Star Wars and Marvel, but they have been quite busy expanding their available IPs. They purchased 20th Century Fox for a reason and aren’t wasting any time to also add a few other recognizable franchises to their list. Now, they are actively working on a new series based on the iconic Goosebumps franchise by R.L. Stine and it seems they already have their casting locked, as Justin Long is set to join the series.
The series will reportedly be inspired by five fo the popular Goosebumps books, and Disney has provided the following logline for the series.
The series follows a group of five high schoolers who unleash supernatural forces upon their town and must all work together — thanks to and in spite of their friendships, rivalries and pasts with each other — in order to save it, learning much about their own parents’ teenage secrets in the process.
Long is taking on the role of a school teacher, who ends up connected with a “decades-old supernatural murder” named Nathan Bratt. The series will seemingly adopt an overarching narrative rather than having each entry act as its own retelling of the iconic books. There have been quite a few adaptations throughout the years with Jack Black as a fictionalized version of Stine back in 2015. It even got a sequel that would release in 2018.
Even with HBO Max’s purge of its many animation offerings, it seems that one series remains strong. DC’s quicky and heavily R-rated Harley Quinn got a new season release but also has a spinoff series in some form of development. Now, it seems they have one more special to surprise us with, as HBO Max has announced that they have a new Valentine’s Day Special set for next year’s February.
The special will be titled Harley Quinn: A Very Problematic Valentine’s Day Special and has released the following logline to tease what we can expect from the project.
The special will feature Harley and Ivy celebrating their very first Valentine’s Day together, while also revealing how the rest of the ragtag crew spends the gushiest, mushiest, most romantic day of the year
The third season of Harley Quinn has seen quite a successful run with an early fourth season renewal in August. As many DC projects got scrapped left and right, it’s a showcase of just how popular the R-rated project is. There’s still no word though where the Kite Man-focused project currently stands as we haven’t heard if it survived the HBO Max purge. Given the character’s popularity, it does seem safe to say he’ll likely still be chasing his dreams.
Marvel Studios’ first Special Presentation, Werewolf by Night, introduced fans to an unknown world of monsters, and perhaps just as important, the secret cabal of hunters who’ve spent their lives tracking them down. As one might expect, this collection of killers is both terrifying and eccentric, quickly making their mark on the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a group not to be reckoned with. However, some of these menacing murderers are more masterly than others, begging the question of who might be the best of them all. As such, Murphy’s Multiverse – home of fandom’s spookiest minds – has taken the liberty of digging in and breaking down every Monster Hunter the special has to offer, ranking them by order of skill and appearance.
6. Barasso
Daniel J. Watts‘ quiet monster hunter is ranked dead last for a few reasons, but none of them have to do with performance. Watts is actually quite charming in the role when he has his brief moments of dialogue and interaction, but otherwise, he doesn’t get to do very much. Despite surviving longer than most of the other characters on this list, Barasso sort of just stands around for most of Werewolf by Night‘s runtime. When he finally does get to put his skills to use, he’s slaughtered by the titular monster pretty quickly. The fact he sort of just exists without doing anything especially memorable puts him behind the rest of the pack, but maybe one day he’ll get to make a return appearance in another project. After all, Marvel Studios is scheduled to do quite a bit of time-jumping over the next few years.
5. Azarel
Eugenie Bondurant‘s Azarel is in a similar boat to Barasso, but gets the slight edge for at least having a memorable character design. The David Bowie-esque monster hunter is striking, and has a looming presence through the entirety of Werewolf by Night. Although they don’t get to show off their fun scythe-like weapon until the special’s climax, and are promptly expired by Marvel’s wolf-man, they do seem to have a suspicious beat on Gael Garcia Bernal’s Jack Russell from the very start. That alone shows signs of Azarel being pretty sharp, a trait that any good hunter should possess if they hope to make an impact in their field. Unfortunately, Azarel doesn’t get to do much more than look great and die trying, so they fall toward the bottom of the list.
4. Jovan
Kirk Thatcher‘s bombastic Jovan boasts frequently about his fifty-seven confirmed monster kills. His big personality and entertaining role as Jack’s first on-screen foil earn him a higher spot on this list than his fellow fallen hunters, even if he wasn’t able to make it out of Bloodstone Manor’s intricate maze alive. The axe-wielding maniac certainly makes an impression by befriending Mr. Russell before immediately trying to chop him in half, and his delightful comments about wishing he had a signature look likely endeared him to fans right off the bat. Also, being the first person killed by Man-Thing in the MCU is a pretty nice thing to have on the ole’ monster-hunting resume – if he were still among the living for it to matter.
3. Verussa Bloodstone
The true big bad of Werewolf by Night. At first, Harriet Sansom Harris’ Verussa Bloodstone appears to only be a mouthpiece for her recently deceased husband. However, circumstance leads to the revelation that Verussa is quite capable of hunting monsters on her own, and might have even been the true mastermind behind the Bloodstone dynasty. She’s certainly the most bloodthirsty of the bunch and might have killed her own step-daughter if Man-Thing didn’t intervene. The Bloodstone matriarch ranks third on the list as a perfectly cheesy villain with some of the best shots throughout the special.
2. Liorn
Leonardo Nam’s Liorn got to the second spot on this list by way of being oddly interesting without too big of a role. Helping matters, he happens to have the best death in the entire special, and his cool factor is undeniable. Another mostly silent monster hunter, Liorn gets a full-blown fight sequence with Laura Donelly’s Elsa Bloodstone that’s equal parts grotesque and breathtaking. It ends with him losing a hand and taking his own arrow through his head, which is awesome. Of all the hunters in Werewolf by Night who aren’t being obviously set up for a future in the MCU, Liorn is the one who probably most deserved a little more screen time. Rest in pieces to a true legend.
1. Elsa Bloodstone
This was a no-brainer, but it’s still worth throwing out there. Laura Donnelly’s Elsa Bloodstone is the runaway Most Valuable Player of Werewolf by Night, which is saying something when one considers how good Bernal and Man-Thing are throughout. She has some of the best fight choreography the MCU has ever seen, and could probably rival either Black Widow in hand-to-hand combat. She’s also ridiculously charming in an Addams Family sort of way. Hopefully, there will be plenty of Elsa in Marvel’s future. The world deserves more of whatever her deal is.
Special Mention: Ulysses Bloodstone
Ulysses Bloodstone is dead by the time Werewolf by Night begins, but he deserves a special mention if only because he was supposedly the greatest monster hunter to ever live. Viewers never get to see him in action, but a manor full of mementos and a legacy that haunts the entire monster-hunting community is probably enough evidence to prove he was as good at killing monsters as he was at graveyard humor. The comic book version of Ulysses was just as prolific as his MCU counterpart, and while fans may never get to see him as more than a talking corpse in live-action, it’s worth giving him the nod here as a genuine player in Marvel’s mortuary scene.
Much has been said about the apparent lack of connecting tissue uniting most of the MCU’s Phase 4. Even though the climax for Marvel’s post-Endgame storylines being pretty straightforward from the moment the Multiverse came into play, most fans only came to terms with it in July 2022. This was when Kevin Feige announced the upcoming Avengers: Secret Wars, scheduled to be released on November 7, 2025, and in a single instant, it became easy to unite every separate storyline into a single narrative thread, in a way only the Multiverse can.
But there are levels to this. If on the surface, in terms of character movement, things should be moving in closer together for the foreseeable future, mimicking the final days of the Infinity Saga, there might be more assembling going on. And Werewolf By Night, even as detached from the usual look and feel of the MCU as it is, with little to no connection to other projects besides, you know, being set in the same universe, will probably have something to offer in that regard.
Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings (2022)
Phase 4 has been all about reinventing and reframing legacy characters all while introducing new faces, both heroes and villains, to an evergrowing canvas of intertwined stories. But it is also quietly revealing strange new artifacts, with apparent similar origins albeit vastly different capabilities, that might come together play a part in the multiversal war that is to come. And this is where Werewolf By Night’s Bloodstone comes into play.
Both in Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings and Ms. Marvel, we’ve been introduced to relics that have been slightly reinterpreted from their comic book origins, all while bringing them together in terms of origin. As for the Ten Rings, they were seen as too much like the Infinity Stones, as each ring initially had its own color and ability, and so not only their look but their previously mentioned origin was significantly changed, with the Shang-Chi post-credit scene hinting at an alien origin. As for Ms. Marvel’s bangle, it became the item that ultimately unlocked Kamala’s powers, unlike in the comics where she develops her superpowers when the Terrigen Mists are released. The bangle is, like the Ten Rings, also hinted at as having an alien origin since it’s mentioned that Kamala’s ancestor initially found it on the arm of a blue alien.
Marvel Studios’ Ms. Marvel (2022)
As for the Bloodstone (a.k.a. the Bloodgem), its comic book origin is, you guessed it, also alien. It is said to be the fragment of a meteorite that crashed on Earth somewhere around 8250 B.C, and that eventually founds its way onto the hands of Ulysses Bloodstone, who became immortal by being in possession of the stone. This could fit the powers of the Bloodstone as mentioned by Ulysses’s widow, Verusa, in Werewolf by Night:
What aspect of the Blood Stone are we after exactly? The strength it lends? The protection? Oh… longevity.
Verusa
Marvel Studios’ Werewolf by Night (2022)
The stone is described as a powerful supernatural relic, a weapon unlike any other, something that fits the profile—and likely the origin—of the other two artifacts mentioned above. If the future of the MCU will bring them all together to serve as instruments in the conflicts to come, remains to be seen. But whereas the Infinity Stones were meant to be wielded together, working in unison towards one single goal, having the Ten Rings, Kamala’s Cosmic Bangle, and the Bloodgem doing the same, even if achievable, might be a bit more tricky. But also incredibly more entertaining.
Werewolf by Night is now streaming, only on Disney+
Editor’s Note: Luckiest Girl Alive features many triggering topics, including sexual assault and gun violence.
When a book becomes a best-seller these days, it’s often followed by news that it has been optioned for film or television. So, it wasn’t too surprising then when the 2015 New York Times Bestseller Luckiest Girl Alive was optioned for film. Unfortunately, though, not every book is meant to be adapted in other forms of media. Luckiest Girl Alive seems to be one of those titles.
Luckiest Girl Alive is based on the novel of the same name by author Jessica Knoll. It tells the story of TifAni “Ani” FaNelli and her mysterious past at the prestigious Bradley School. After being bullied and humiliated during high school, Ani sought to reinvent herself in adulthood, crafting a perfect life with a notable job, an expensive wardrobe, and a handsome bluebloods fiancé. Except, she has a big secret that could easily destroy it all. In the Netflix adaptation of Luckiest Girl Alive, Mila Kunis stars as adult Ani and Chiara Aurelia (Cruel Summer) as young Ani. The movie switches back and forth between past and present as viewers slowly begin to learn more about the secret(s) that Ani is hiding from those around her.
Luckiest Girl Alive isn’t a film for everyone. The constant switching between past and present can be rather frustrating, and the narration isn’t much better. And it’s at no fault because of the cast – they do their best with the material provided to them, especially when it comes to Kunis. From anger to charm, Kunis perfects Ani’s character. Although Ani is often insufferable, Kunis is great and makes the film watchable. While the first hour admittedly drags, the final forty minutes or so manages to redeem itself. It’s not an easy watch given the subject matter. Sexual assault is something that occurs daily in our world and is often ignored despite victims coming forward. If there’s one thing Luckiest Girl Alive does correctly is it tries to capture the harsh reality victims often face.
The decision to have Knoll pen the screenplay for the film was probably both good and bad. Knoll knows her characters, and she knows Ani’s story better than anyone. Unfortunately, though, the movie does often feel bogged down. It’s one of those instances where having Knoll work with a more experienced screenwriter could’ve been beneficial. Director Mike Barker, who has directed episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale and Broadchurch, does a good job directing Luckiest Girl Alive, although there were some questionable choices made when it came to lingering on some of the more graphic scenes.
While Luckiest Girl Alive isn’t necessarily a bad film, it’s not exactly great either. Kunis deserves plenty of praise for her performance. She’s excellent in a role that could’ve otherwise been one note. The problem is Kunis can only carry the project so far; the script is uneven and the constant switching between past and present is frustrating. While it’s vital to understand Ani’s past before we can truly understand her as an adult, the transitions were not handled all that well and it often felt like a bad case of whiplash. Those that loved the book? Luckiest Girl Alive is a faithful adaptation thanks to Knoll. Those unfamiliar with the novel, however, might struggle to retain interest.
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