Gael García Bernal becomes Werewolf by Night for Marvel's Disney+ special
Gael García Bernal by day, Werewolf by Night.
The Old and Mozart in the Jungle actor has officially joined Marvel's roster, signing on to star as the lead in a Werewolf by Night special for Disney+, it was announced at D23 Expo on Saturday.
Marvel also dropped a fun first trailer full of horror camp during the fan event, which you can watch here:
Werewolf by Night — or "the Werewolf," as he's mostly referred to by other characters — first appeared in Marvel comics in 1972. Based on an idea from Roy Thomas (co-creator of fan-favorites such as Wolverine, Vision, Carol Danvers, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and Ultron), the first iteration of Werewolf by Night centered on Jack Russell, a young man whose distant ancestor was mutated into a werewolf after killing Dracula. After a successful appearance in a few issues of Marvel Spotlight, Jack got his own comic which ran for almost five years and also introduced us to another character familiar to Disney+ viewers, Moon Knight.
Jack Russell went on to co-star and appear in various comics over the years until Werewolf by Night got a revamp by Marvel writer Benjamin Jackendoff and The Black Eyed Peas' Taboo in October 2020. Jackendoff and Taboo's Werewolf is also touched by a family curse, but the duo reimagined him as an indigenous man named Jake Gomez. "I think Werewolf by Night is such an interesting character, a cool character. His mythology is really dope, and it was such an exciting opportunity to be able to revamp a new mythology and tie it into Native American storytelling," Jackendoff said when launching the comic.
LOIC VENANCE/AFP/Getty; Marvel Comics Gael García Bernal; 'Werewolf by Night'
A film adaptation of Werewolf by Night written by Robert Nelson Jacobs (Chocolat) was announced and set to begin filming in 2005 but never made it into production. The character has since appeared in various animated projects, including The Super Hero Squad Show, Ultimate Spider-Man and Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.
Watch the official trailer above. Werewolf by Night hits Disney+ on Oct. 7.
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