Marvel Studios’ Werewolf by Night premiered on Disney+ Oct. 7, 2022, as a black-and-white monster movie. Here’s how Michael Giacchino made it, the color version and what’s next.
Marvel doesn’t usually do monster movies. Then it made Werewolf by Night.
The Halloween special hit Disney+ in October 2022. It’s shot in black and white like an old Universal horror movie, it runs under an hour, and it was directed by Michael Giacchino, best known as the Oscar-winning composer of “Up.”
It introduced Gael Garcia Bernal as a werewolf and Laura Donnelly as monster hunter Elsa Bloodstone. A year later, Marvel put out a full-color version.
With Marvel now planning a run of Halloween specials on Disney+, it’s a good time to look back at Werewolf by Night.
What is Werewolf by Night about?
After their leader dies, a secret group of monster hunters gathers at Bloodstone Temple for a creepy memorial, according to Disney+. They end up competing in a deadly hunt for a powerful relic, and the hunt leads them to a dangerous monster.
Gael Garcia Bernal plays Jack Russell, Laura Donnelly plays Elsa Bloodstone and Harriet Sansom Harris plays Verussa, according to Disney+. Heather Quinn and Peter Cameron wrote the teleplay, WDW News Today reported.
Elsa is the estranged daughter of the late monster hunter Ulysses Bloodstone. She shows up to claim her birthright, Inverse noted.
It’s rated TV-14 and runs about 54 minutes, according to Disney+.
When did Werewolf by Night come out?
It premiered on Disney+ on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, Den of Geek reported.
Here’s Marvel’s official trailer:
Why is Werewolf by Night in black and white?
Because Giacchino grew up on old monster movies.
“My brother Anthony and I would always spend Saturdays watching old monster movies,” Giacchino told Den of Geek. He listed favorites like “King Kong,” “The Wolf Man” and “Poltergeist,” along with Universal and Hammer horror and Ray Harryhausen’s creature films.
He wanted the special to feel spooky without going too far. “I feel like the world has gone into this thing where all the scary stuff has gotten too sadistic,” he said.
He also wanted it to mean something. “It was important to me that this has a real heart to it,” Giacchino said.
How was Werewolf by Night made?
Mostly the old-fashioned way.
The crew shot it in 12 days on traditional sets, with mostly practical makeup and monsters, Den of Geek reported. Giacchino skipped The Volume, the giant LED stage used on shows like “The Mandalorian.”
“A lot of it is practical effects that we did in-camera,” Giacchino said. “I didn’t want to use The Volume, which is great for certain things, but for this it felt very important that it be real.”
Marvel later released “Director by Night,” a documentary about Giacchino making the special, WDW News Today noted.
Is there a color version of Werewolf by Night?
Yes. Werewolf by Night in Color came to Disney+ on Oct. 20, 2023, according to Disney+.
Giacchino teased it on social media. “We spent a lot of time working on this color version,” he wrote, as Dark Horizons reported. “We wanted to pay homage to the incredible vibrant color in horror films like the ones Hammer made.”
Marvel’s trailer for the color version:
Will there be a Werewolf by Night 2?
Marvel hasn’t announced one.
Kevin Feige has said the special introduced “a world that will ultimately become quite important to the future of the MCU,” WDW News Today reported.
Right after the premiere, co-executive producer Brian Gay told Inverse that nobody knew yet what Jack and Elsa would do next. “Could be a show, could be a movie,” he said.
Donnelly was just as unsure. Asked about Elsa’s future, she told Inverse, “I have no idea.”
Where can you watch Werewolf by Night?
Both versions are streaming on Disney+: the original black-and-white Werewolf by Night and Werewolf by Night in Color.
Is Marvel doing more Halloween specials?
Yes, and they’re zombies. At New York Comic Con on Oct. 8, 2026, Marvel announced three animated Marvel Zombies Halloween specials for Disney+, one a year from 2027 through 2029.
They’re titled Marvel Zombies: The Winter Soldier, Marvel Zombies: The Fist of Khonshu and Marvel Zombies: The Last Guardian.
What are some fun facts about Werewolf by Night?
The director is a composer. Giacchino won an Oscar for the score of Pixar’s “Up,” and he scored Werewolf by Night himself, too.
It took less than two weeks to shoot. The whole special was filmed in 12 days, according to Den of Geek.
There’s a swamp monster friend. Jack Russell and Man-Thing end the special as best friends, Inverse noted.
Elsa Bloodstone is a comics veteran. She first appeared in Marvel Comics in 2001, according to Inverse.
Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.
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Hat Tips:
Disney+: Werewolf by Night and Werewolf by Night in Color official pages (synopsis, cast, rating, runtime and release date)
Kirsten Howard, Den of Geek, Oct. 4, 2022: Michael Giacchino on Werewolf by Night
Shannen Ace, WDW News Today, Oct. 16, 2023: Trailer released for Werewolf by Night in Color
Garth Franklin, Dark Horizons, Sept. 16, 2023: Giacchino on the color version, citing his social media post
Eric Francisco, Inverse, Oct. 7, 2022: Werewolf by Night ending explained
Marvel Entertainment on YouTube: Werewolf by Night official trailer and Werewolf by Night in Color trailer
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