Werewolf by Night (2022)

Special Info

Hey, my furry friend!

Ulysses Bloodstone is dead…and his legacy is up for grabs.  A group of hunters who track and slay the dark creatures of the world have been summoned to the estate of Bloodstone Manor by Verussa (Harriet Sansom Harris) to battle it out for Ulysses’s legacy:  The Bloodstone.  Among the competitors is Bloodstone’s daughter Elsa (Laura Donnelly) and a man named Jack Russell (Gael Garcia Bernal).  The Bloodstone is hidden in the grounds Bloodstone Manor in the body of a beast.  The hunters must slay the creature, but one of them is a werewolf…by night!

Directed by Michael Giacchino, Werewolf by Night is a Marvel Comics superhero special in the MCU.  The series follows She-Hulk:  Attorney at Law (actually being released during the course of the series), and the one-shot episode premiered on Disney+ on October 7, 2022.

I have a bit of “hair” problem

Werewolf by Night was one of my early Marvel Comics obsessions.  The Wolf-Man was the Universe Monster I was most afraid of, so I gravitated to werewolves…and Jack Russell, the Werewolf by Night was a natural comic book choice.  While some of the recent MCU project have been debatable, Werewolf by Night works…but needed more.

The story is rather simple.  It is a group of people hunting a monster…and one of the men becomes the hunted.  Part of the reason that the special works is this simplicity.  It combines three Marvel stories by combining the stories of Ulysses Bloodstone (and his daughter Elsa), Man-Thing, and of course Jack Russell.  It doesn’t go into any origins and simply goes for fun and nostalgia.

Gael Garcia Bernal is a great actor and the Werewolf has a lot to work with. The special however is so brief that you don’t get a real feel for Jack Russell.  With the potential of MCU, you can always hope that Bernal gets more opportunities to play the character.  Laura Donnelly is a solid Elsa Bloodstone.  In the world of comics, Elsa is relatively “new” and hasn’t had a ton of appearances to really establish a persona…but she is good here and also could be expanded.

Make one more “Giant-Size Man-Thing” joke…I dare you…whatever knows fear burns at my touch!

The best part of the series has to be the look.  The special pays homage to the old Universal monster movies and is largely in black-or-white (becoming color at the end with daylight).  The Werewolf effects are practical (which gives weight to the look), and the Werewolf is joined by Man-Thing (a personal favorite).  The Man-Thing is computer generated but also looks well done.  Man-Thing previously appeared in his own self-titled movie in 2005.

Werewolf by Night provides another outlet for the MCU.  Marvel has so many characters, and so many stories that one-shots like this special are a perfect way to test-drive characters for a bigger audience.  With a good response, Werewolf by Night could return and be potentially a good fit for the bigger movies.  Characters like Darkhawk, Sleepwalker, or even someone like a Howard the Duck could have a life in specials when they won’t be afforded a movie.  Werewolf by Night is a fun start and has potential for more…and the rare occurrence of “give me more” in a time when I often ask for less.  Werewolf by Night was followed by Black Panther:  Wakanda Forever in 2022 as well.