Werewolf By Night, the newest Marvel product on Disney+, debuts today. Werewolf By Night tells the tale of an antihero who is simply a werewolf character who can maintain his intelligence and self-control just in time for the frightening season. The persona is one of several conventional “monster” characters Marvel has produced throughout its 80+ year publication history, many of whom had their fates intertwined with that of Blade, the vampire hunter. Werewolf by Night’s persona also has connections to Moon Knight, whose comic he initially debuted in, and a character who has previously had his chance at a Disney+ series, the one starring Oscar Isaac.
In the pages of Marvel Comics, Werewolf by Night has appeared twice, first as Jack Russell, a Lycanthrope ancestor with the power to transform into a werewolf even in the absence of a full moon. Jake Gomez, a second iteration of the character, is a Native American guy whose family bears a lycanthropic curse. Gael Garcia Bernal plays the titular role of Werewolf By Night, Jack Russell, this time. The actor, who is most known for his role in Mozart in the Jungle on Amazon, is also set to co-star alongside Kiersey Clemons from The Flash in the next Z movie as Zorro.
According to the comics, Russell’s ancestors have been lycanthropes since 1795, when one of them attempted to kill Dracula but was bitten by a werewolf working for the vampire instead. When he became 18 years old, he would change into a werewolf himself. On her deathbed, Jack’s mother told him about the family curse and begged him not to hurt his stepfather, who had been blamed for her murder. Jack was able to develop self-control while in the werewolf form because of the hazy remembrance of that commitment.
Werewolf by Night’s involvement in the MCU has been the subject of rumors for years, and as of 2019, there have been suggestions that he could take part in a forthcoming project. It was revealed by Kevin Smith in July of last year that Marvel Studios had rejected his plans to incorporate Werewolf by Night into his now-canceled Howard the Duck animated series, in which the titular Duck would have found himself trapped in the pages of the Darkhold and come into contact with a number of Marvel’s supernatural beings.
Below is the trailer of Werewolf By Night:
