Marvel Studios released a new documentary, titled Special Presentation: Director by Night, which follows the journey of composer Michael Giacchino as he makes his directorial debut with Werewolf by Night.
Director by Night is helmed by Michael Giacchino's documentarian brother Anthony Giacchino and is currently available to stream on Disney+. The hour-long making-of documentary offers a behind-the-scenes look at the production for Werewolf by Night. Per the synopsis available on Disney+, Director by Night "tells the story of two Academy Award-winning brothers and their different ways of telling stories" and "explores the duo's filmmaking origins in the small New Jersey town where they grew up." Along with interviews with Michael Giacchino and his family members, Director by Night also features appearances from the cast, including stars Gael García Bernal and Laura Donnelly.
Giacchino has worked primarily as a composer, with his film scores including Up, Mission: Impossible, Jurassic World and the Star Trek reboot films, among others. He is also known for composing the Marvel Studios fanfare in 2016. Werewolf by Night is his directorial debut. Marvel Studios released two other behind-the-scenes specials, including an entry in the Marel Studios: Assembled anthology docuseries focusing on She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, as well as another entry in the Marvel Studios: Legends docuseries focusing on Black Panther.
In previous interviews, Giacchino revealed that the idea for Werewolf by Night came from a brief conversation with Marvel Studios President and Chief Creative Officer Kevin Feige, who was initially surprised by the suggestion. "He was kind of surprised because it was such a left-field sort of choice," the director said. "And I was like, Yeah, think about it. That's an area of the Marvel universe that no one's touched. It's just lying there waiting to be explored."
The Future of Werewolf by Night
While there have been no official announcements from Marvel Studios about the future of Werewolf by Night in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Giacchino has said he would "absolutely" want to do more with the characters. "We're just in that weird phase right now where it's like, all right, well, let's see what the future holds," he said. "And I'm in a place too, for the first time in 20 some years that I don't have a thing to just jump onto next."
As for Werewolf by Night, the Halloween special stars Bernal as the titular werewolf, Jack Russell, as well as Harriet Sansom Harris (Desperate Housewives) and Donnelly (The Nevers) as Verrusa and Elsa Bloodstone, respectively. Created by Gerry Conway, Roy Thomas and Mike Ploog, the first character to be called "Werewolf by Night" was Jack Russell, who was a descendant of a mythical species of humans called Lycanthropes. The character first appeared in the 1972 issue of Marvel Spotlight #2 before starring in a Werewolf by Night series until 1977. The series is also notable for the first appearance of Moon Knight, who Oscar Isaac played in the Marvel Studios series of the same name, which premiered on Disney+ in March.
Marvel Comics revived the character in April 2020 with Werewolf by Night #1, a miniseries starring Jake Gomez, created by the writing team consisting of Black Eyed Peas' Taboo, Benjamin Jackendoff and Scot Eaton. In this version, Jake, aka. Red Wolf, is a member of the Hopi Native American tribe whose family has been cursed with lycanthropy.
Marvel Studios' Werewolf by Night is now streaming on Disney+.
Source: YouTube