Ring the bell and make the count because Bad Bunny is tapping out of Sony and Marvel’s El Muerto, a superhero project the studio recently stripped from its calendar of upcoming releases. Sony Pictures removed El Muerto from its forthcoming slate in June. The Jonas Cuarón-directed Spider-Man spinoff would have served as the first time to feature a Latino character in the lead.
Speaking with Vanity Fair, Bad Bunny and his publicist Sujeylee Solá said plans to star in El Muerto look grim. Bunny, whose real name is Benito Martínez Ocasio, fell silent when asked about the film’s removal from Sony’s schedule. After a prolonged silence, Solá said, “Next question.” Martínez added, “I don’t know what to say,” saying the issue is “delicate.” Solá quickly pinned the conversation by saying, “Obviously, it’s out,” referring to Martínez’s involvement with the spinoff.
Martínez is clearly bummed about bailing on Marvel’s El Muerto. When Sony announced his casting in April of 2022, the chart-topping rapper said, “To bring El Muerto to life is just incredible .. so exciting!” Martínez grew up watching wrestling and was eager to bulk up for the role. With El Muerto in limbo and the future of Sony’s Spider-Verse uncertain, it’s best for Bunny to hop on other opportunities.
El Muerto, aka Juan-Carlos Sánchez, was a super-powered wrestler who initially fought Spider-Man in a charity wrestling match where he nearly unmasked Spider-Man before being accidentally stung by the frightened web-crawler with a paralyzing poison. After being saved from the hospital by Spider-Man, Sanchez’s oppressor, El Dorado, came to claim his life. Knowing his life was in danger, Spider-Man and Sánchez joined forces to defeat Dorado.
Juan-Carlos Sánchez is the son of a luchador who inherits the ancestral power of “El Muerto.” The character’s abilities reside in his wrestling mask, though Sanchez also brings his brand of antiheroism to the squared circle.
What do you think about Bad Bunny bowing out of El Muerto? Are Sony Pictures dropping plans for the Spider-Man spinoff altogether? This news certainly feels like another nail in the coffin for this obscure Marvel project, and I can’t help but wonder if it’s only a matter of time before the studio officially scraps the film.