One of the casualties of the Streaming Wars is physical media and the "special features" content studios used to make for those releases. Disney+ is countering that trend with its series of Marvel Studios: Assembled specials, but the recently released Werewolf by Night documentary shows just how much more the studio could do with its focus on director Michael Giacchino.
Typically, these specials all follow an even stricter formula than Marvel Studios' films in Phase One. Each is a mixture of on-set footage and on-camera interviews with producers, directors and actors that loosely follow the events of the film or show. For example, in the She-Hulk: Attorney at Law behind-the-scenes special, Charlie Cox shows up right near the end. Though formulaic, they are still a delightful and informative look at how Marvel Studios makes its films and series. People in these specials likely found inspiration from making-of featurettes for their favorite films. They're not just "extra content," they're important. The Marvel Studios: Assembled for Michael Giacchino's Werewolf by Night shows just how special they can be. It doesn't just stand alone as a documentary about making a movie, it speaks to the potential for what Marvel can do in the future.
Marvel Studios Loves a Formula, Director by Night Breaks It
Marvel Studios is an astounding feat of cinematic production, regardless of what one thinks of the substance of its stories. Marvel has released 15 films and series since WandaVision ended the studio's pandemic shutdown in January 2021. That's hard work, and the formulaic nature of the Marvel Studios: Assembled specials make sure they are completed without getting in the way of the project. Yet, the director of Director by Night is Anthony Giacchino, brother of Michael. And, since Werewolf by Night was a one-hour special, the production didn't have the longevity of the others. Truth be told, there is very little true behind-the-scenes footage in the documentary.
It's nothing but a "lucky break," that the director of the special's brother was already a documentary director, and both grew up documenting what seems like every month of their lives. It was also happenstance that Michael grew up reading and loving the Werewolf by Night comics. Director by Night tells a deeply personal story about how making this silly Marvel werewolf story was something Michael was training for his entire life. Who knew the accomplished composer whose credits span the Lost TV series to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Spider-Man: No Way Home was a lifelong director? Well, now, all of us.
This is the first Assembled special that could stand on its own as a film. It's also likely not something that future Assembled directors could repeat. Still, it can serve as inspiration for a new approach.
Marvel Studios: Assembled Could Be an Artful Record of the MCU
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On one hand, these making-of featurettes stem from the desire for extra content to toss on a DVD or Blu-Ray. Why would any studio put a featurette on there highlighting anything but how "fun" and "happy" the work was? Yet, documentaries like Empire of Dreams or Hearts of Darkness, about the making of Apocalypse Now, are cultural historical records. Lucasfilm's Disney+ series Light and Magic is a frank look back at the people who helped define modern visual effects. Not every Assembled special can be as personal as Director by Night, but they can be more narrative than the typical format of these shows.
Marvel Studios is responsible for one of the largest pop culture explosions in the 21st Century, and it's mostly been done in secret. The Assembled specials have a chance to allow fans to peer behind the curtain. They'll want to see things like Wong DJ'ing on set or Chris Hemsworth and Taika Waititi goofing off between takes. However, there should be scenes where Christian Bale talks about struggling with the green screen. Yet, they'll learn how much effort and care goes into making these films and shows. A less-polished Assembled special could help fans connect on a more human level to the people making these superhuman stories come alive.
At the very least, dynamic Assembled specials could reveal things that generate buzz for the show after the finale debuts on Disney+. Still, Marvel Studios should never treat them like mere marketing or throwaway content. They are the first drafts of the history of the most expansive story ever told in movies and on TV.
Both Director by Night and Werewolf by Night are streaming on Disney+.