Desierto director Jonás Cuarón will helm Sony's upcoming Spider-Man spinoff film, El Muerto, starring Bad Bunny. Despite the financial and commercial struggle that Morbius faced, Sony's Spider-Man Universe is going forward, continuing to reimagine more villains from Peter Parker's rogue's gallery as anti-heroes. Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock, who began Sony's Marvel-themed universe, will complete his trilogy with the currently in-development Venom 3. The studio also has Kraven the Hunter and Madame Web coming up, with Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Dakota Johnson starring as the respective titular characters.
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While Sony began by utilizing some of the more famous Spider-Man villains for their franchise, the studio surprised the world when they announced at CinemaCon that an El Muerto solo movie is in the works, starring rapper Bad Bunny. After being impressed with his performance in Bullet Train, Sony wasted no time finding another project for Bad Bunny to star in, leading to El Muerto getting greenlit. Despite having only appeared in two issues of Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Sony is determined to have the character headline his own film, which will hit theaters in January 2024.
After announcing El Muerto at CinemaCon months ago, the project has found its creative team. The Hollywood Reporter reveals that Cuarón will direct the Marvel picture, having helmed Desierto, Año uña, and Z. The trade also confirmed that Blue Beetle screenwriter Gareth Dunnet Alcocer is attached to pen the El Muerto script. The film is still in early development, meaning El Muerto won't start principal photography anytime soon.
What Is El Muerto's Place In Sony's Spider-Man Universe
Even though it's not unheard of for studios to develop comic book films about smaller characters, it's still unclear what El Muerto's place is in Sony's Spider-Man Universe. Unlike Madame Web and Kraven the Hunter, which both have larger ties to the web-slinger, it's hard to tell if El Muerto is simply set in the same universe but doesn't have any long-term goals to crossover with the rest of the franchise. With Venom, Morbius, Kraven, and Madame Web, it's easier to imagine those characters eventually coming together in some capacity. El Muerto, on the other hand, may possibly be a one-off, with no plans to make it a film series or have Bad Bunny's character meet other figures in that universe.
Despite El Muerto's comic history being small, there's always the chance the creative team will not only reinvent the character but add something new to him that justifies the character getting a Spider-Man spinoff film. Even though the response to El Muerto has been mixed since its initial announcement, it's hard to judge the product before they have even shot a single frame of it. Hopefully, once El Muerto starts shooting, it will become clearer what Sony Pictures is doing with this character as they continue to expand their Spider-Man-themed universe.