Marvel is planning a Disney+ Halloween special and The Wrap is reporting that they are currently seeking a Latino Lead for it. The special, which is Marvel’s second holiday special in development after The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special which is set to shoot concurrently with Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 3, could be Marvel’s first horror property to hit the screen as part of the MCU. Venom isn’t technically MCU and the Blade Reboot starring Mahershala Ali is probably not going to hit the big screen before this.
So, who will be the focus of the new special? If the casting call and some inside information are any indication, we are looking at the Werewolf By Night entering the MCU. According to reports, the studio is looking for Latino male in his 30s to star in the Halloween Special, which is eyeing to begin production in early 2022.
Interestingly Marve has two Werewolf by night characters. Here’s the lowdown from The Wrap:
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 on 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 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.
SO, which werewolf will be showing up on Disney+, only time will tell, but as long as they make these holiday specials better than the Star Wars Holiday special, we’re here for it.