Earlier this month, our own Lizzie Hill was very excited to exclusively report that a Werewolf By Night Disney+ project was in the works under the working title Buzz Cut and Natural History Productions LLC. Yesterday, this was given validation as The Wrap reported that Marvel Studios was actively seeking a Latino lead for a Disney+ Halloween Special. The Wrap also believes this character will be based on a version of Werewolf by Night. This lines up quite well with Hill’s earlier report that there would be a Werewolf By Night Disney+ project filming early next year.
Marvel Studios is actively searching for a Latino actor to lead the cast of an as-yet untitled Halloween Special that will air on Disney+, TheWrap has exclusively learned.
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.
Individuals with knowledge say the character may be based on “Werewolf by Night,” the name used by two separate Marvel characters.
While typically the phrase “Werewolf by Night” brings the name Jack Russell to the forefront of Marvel fan’s brains, last year a new version of the character was introduced — Jake Gomez. Oddly, the description above of what they’re looking for doesn’t quite seem to line up with either character exactly, so this could also be a brand new character for Werewolf By Night or just as likely some combination of the comics versions that’s been changed up a bit.
It would be unusual for Marvel Studios or Kevin Feige to just add a character in a project and not be attached to the bigger MCU picture somehow. It seems likely we might get a hint of this character, or at the very least an introduction of werewolves, in Moon Knight, as has been rumored.
The fact that Feige just so happens to be fast-tracking a Halloween special to film and premiere next year, despite there being zero foundation for the character to appear yet, is just too out of character. If nothing else, it wouldn’t surprise me if we see the character hinted at (at the very least) in Moon Knight. However, the fact that they’re searching now for this seems to imply this particular werewolf won’t have a huge part in Moon Knight if any, as the series has been filming for some time now and is likely to wrap soon.
That being said, it wouldn’t surprise me if we see Jack Russell and Jake Gomez square off at some point in the Halloween special, with perhaps versions of Russell being introduced in Moon Knight, and Gomez introduced in the special. This would help keep the MCU connectivity alive within the special.
I’d imagine it would be more action-oriented than anything else because as exciting as the term “Halloween special” sounds, I don’t see them isolating their audience by committing to a horror special. But I certainly hope we see some Halloweentown-Esque spooky jack-o-lantern decorated fun.
While it was previously reported by Lizzie Hill that Werewolf by Night is a “series” on Disney+, she is currently reporting that she cannot contradict the Wrap’s info about it actually being a “Halloween special.” So it appears that it is a special rather than, necessarily, a series unless they plan to continue it as a Holiday series year after year.
No word yet on a release date for this upcoming Halloween special, but one can safely assume they’re shooting for October 2022. It also seems likely to be officially announced at the upcoming Disney+ Day planned for November 12, 2021.
Source: TheWrap
