Kevin Smith revealed that Marvel Studios had plans to bring the comic book character Werewolf by Night to the screen back in July, and just one month later The Wrap heard that Marvel was “searching for a Latino actor in his 30s to star in a Halloween Special for Disney+” that may focus on Werewolf by Night. Now The Wrap reports that the search has ended: Gael García Bernal (who is a few years beyond his 30s, but close enough) has signed on to star in this untitled, werewolf-focused show.
Filming on this Halloween special will begin in early 2022 so they can have it ready for next October.
When bringing Werewolf by Night to the screen, Marvel has two different versions of the character to choose from:
The first, Jack Russell, was created by Gerry Conway and Mike Ploog based on concepts by Stan Lee and Roy Thomas, and first appeared in a 1972 issue of Marvel Spotlight. Russell starred in an ongoing Werewolf by Night series that ran for 43 issues and ended in 1977. Russell is a descendant of the mystically-altered offshoot of humans known as Lycanthropes, who eventually becomes capable of transforming on his own volition even without a full moon, and retaining his intellect while transformed. Among other things, that series is notable for having the first appearance of Moon Knight, a character whose own Disney+ series, starring Oscar Isaac, will stream in 2022.
Marvel introduced a second incarnation of the character, Jake Gomez, last year in Werewolf by Night (Vol. 3) #1. Created by the writing team of Taboo, Benjamin Jackendoff and Scot Eaton, Gomez, a teenage member of the Hopi Native American tribe whose family has been cursed with lycanthropy, comes in conflict with a nefarious pharmaceutical company exploiting members of the tribe.
García Bernal is definitely not playing teenager Jake Gomez, but the show could mix together elements of the two characters. Then again, we don’t know for sure that García Bernal is playing the protagonist, and Marvel and Disney+ still aren’t ready to confirm that this is a Werewolf by Night special. So there’s a lot of information we’ll have to keep waiting for.
García Bernal’s previous credits include Amores perros, Y tu mamá también, The Motorcycle Diaries, Babel, Desierto, The Kindergarten Teacher, and Old.