The world of horror and comic books collided in 2022 with the release of Marvel‘s Werewolf by Night, a Disney+ television special based on the character of the same name. Fans have been eagerly awaiting news of a potential sequel, and director Michael Giacchino has provided a slim, but optimistic update on whether this might happen – though it seems like it won’t be for a while. In an interview with entertainment journalist Brandon Davis, Giacchino, alongside his son Mick Giacchino, was aksed about a possible Werewolf by Night 2. The director admitted that the project had been put on the backburner, but wasn’t dead yet. “There’s been a lot going on in the industry and everyone [is] sort of recalibrating,” Giacchino said. “I think certain things had to be just put aside for the moment. We’ll get there.”
It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Giacchino has a lot on his plate, as the composer-turned-director has been a busy man in Hollywood. He is responsible for some of the most well-recognized film scores of the 21st century, helming the music for movies like Up, the Jurassic World franchise, Mission: Impossible installments, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, The Batman, the Star Trek reboot series, and more. Werewolf by Night was his first major directing project, and Giacchino is also slated to direct a remake of the horror film Them! for Warner Bros. He will additionally be scoring the upcoming MCU film The Fantastic Four, releasing next year.
‘Werewolf by Night’ Planted Marvel’s Flag in Horror
While the MCU might not be known as a horror mainstay, Werewolf by Night proved that Disney and Marvel were capable of blending horror and monsters into the comic book genre. The television special starred Gael García Bernal as Jack Russell, a monster hunter brought to Bloodstone Manor to compete for an ancient relic with other monster hunters. However, the fact that Russell transforms into a werewolf at night means things don’t necessarily go as planned on the hunt for the relic. To round out the horror theme, the special was released in black-and-white, though a colorized version was later released.
The special also starred Laura Donnelly, Harriet Sansom Harris, Kirk Thatcher, and Carey Jones. This isn’t the first time that Giacchino has hinted at a possible follow-up to the special, telling Collider last year, “My wish is that, yes, there will be more with these characters. I would love to, and I have ideas of what I would love to do with them, and it’s all crazy and nuts, but I think that’s the only way to go about it.” So given Giacchino‘s apparent optimism for a sequel, perhaps more antics with Jack Russell might be on the way after all.
Werewolf by Night is currently streaming on Disney+.
via Collider