Bad Bunny is set to become the first live-action Latino lead in a Marvel movie when he portrays El Muerto in a Spider-Man spinoff film of the same name for Sony.
Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group President Sanford Panitch announced Bad Bunny's casting at CinemaCon. "Sometimes we get lucky with perfect casting," he said. "We think audiences are going to be excited by where these marvel characters are headed." Panitch also confirmed that El Muerto will open in theaters on Jan. 12, 2024.
Created by Peter David and Roger Cruz, Marcus Estrada de la García/El Muerto debuted in Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #6 in 2006 and is a masked wrestler whose mystical face-covering grants him superpowers. Originally a legacy title and passed down from generation to generation, Juan-Carlos Sanchez was the next in line to inherit the title of El Muerto from his father. However, Juan-Carlos was against becoming an El Muerto and refused to fight El Dorado as part of the ritual for the mask. El Dorado attempted to kill him as punishment, but Juan-Carlo's father sacrificed himself to save his son. His father's bravery earned Juan-Carlos 10 years to defeat and unmask a superhero. If Juan-Carlos did not accomplish this task, El Dorado would find and kill him. El Muerto later fought Spider-Man in a charity wrestling match as a ploy to unmask him.
Bad Bunny is the stage name for Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, a Puerto Rican musician, producer, actor and professional wrestler. At CinemaCon, Ocasio told the crowd, "To bring El Muerto to life is just incredible ... so exciting." This will mark Ocasio's first time leading a film, as his previous acting credits include a cameo appearance in F9 and a recurring role in Narcos: Mexico as Arturo "Kitty" Páez. He has also made appeared multiple times on several WWE programs.
El Muerto is the latest Spider-Man antagonist to receive a solo film following 2018's Venom and 2022's Morbius. A feature-length Kraven the Hunter film starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the titular Spidey villain is also set for release in January 2023. Meanwhile, Sony is gearing up to begin shooting Madame Web, which stars Dakota Johnson as the clairvoyant and precognitive titular mutant and Euphoria's Sydney Sweeney in a mystery role. Madame Web hits theaters on July 7, 2023.
Source: CinemaCon