Michael Giacchino, director of the forthcoming Disney+ Halloween special Marvel's Werewolf By Night, recalls the surprisingly funny process of explaining the concept to Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige. Werewolf By Night, which premieres in October, is a curious project for a number of reasons, chiefly due to the presence of Giacchino. He is the Oscar-winning composer of Pixar projects such as Up and Ratatouille as well as numerous MCU films, including the recent Thor: Love & Thunder. Additionally, Werewolf By Night has been confirmed to be an hour-long special, and its recent trailer indicates a Universal monster movie influence.
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While the goal is for Werewolf By Night to be unlike anything the MCU has put out up to this point, the conventions of the MCU itself still loom, especially under the careful guidance of Kevin Feige. 2022 has driven a very slow spool in terms of the next stage of the MCU franchise, especially considering that, as Feige announced at San Diego Comic-Con, there are two full phases of movies planned for the next several years. It has also been a prosperous year for Marvel's Disney+ shows, with Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law all debuting on the service this year. And with The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special dropping this winter, fitting another special in with all of this world-building straight-to-streaming material might've seemed like a difficult task for Feige, especially given its genre. However, apparently it was an idea the producer was quite keen on, albeit not initially.
Speaking to Screen Rant at D23, Giacchino talked about the forthcoming Werewolf By Night special and detailed Feige's disbelief upon hearing the idea. Though Giacchino is grateful that Feige let him direct a project for Disney+, the composer explained how Feige's enthusiasm for the project followed a baffled, appalled reaction. Read the exclusive excerpt below:
"It was funny because [Kevin Feige] was talking to me and said, 'So what would you want to do?' And I was like, 'I want to do Werewolf by Night.' And he looked at me like, 'Really? Like really? Werewolf-' I'm like, 'Yeah, that's what I want.' He was like, 'Wow. Okay, alright. Let's talk about that.' And the conversation just kept going, and going, and going, and then, and here we are now."
Feige's disbelief could emanate from a few factors of Giacchino's idea. Namely, the obscurity of Werewolf By Night as a Marvel Comics property, itself owed to a short-lived comic book run in the '70s with occasional revivals and references in other books, makes it an odd property to adapt. It's not to say that Feige strays away from obscure, difficult Marvel characters, especially considering that Howard the Duck, Ego the Living Planet, and Pip the Troll are all canon in the MCU. However, the more niche, laughable quality of Werewolf By Night, especially in comparison to other horror-based Marvel characters such as Morbius, Blade, and Ghost Rider, may have influenced Feige's first impression of the pitch.
Equally important as Feige's initial reaction to Giacchino's pitch is his eagerness to hear the composer's full idea for the project. Creatives such as James Gunn, Sam Raimi, and Taika Waititi can all speak to Feige's willingness to embrace less-than-presentable ideas in the name of making a palatable, universal franchise for all audiences. One could argue that Feige's ability to take risks, such as with the Guardians of the Galaxy films or Moon Knight, has made the MCU a more interesting and unpredictable franchise, even in the wake of detractors calling the films safe. Ultimately, though, Werewolf By Night, a tribute to old-school horror directed by the studio's longtime composer, is more proof than anything that Feige isn't afraid to break conventions, no matter what his first impression is.