While the scope and scale of the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to get bigger and bigger every single year, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige remains firmly at the center of everything. He’s recognized as the mastermind of the expansive franchise, and he has well-earned the trust of fans. Because of this, his thoughts about the development of each big and small screen project are always interesting – and in the case of Werewolf By Night, it’s exciting to know that he had valuable input when it came to developing the scares in the special Disney+ presentation.
As featured in the video at the top of this article, I interviewed Werewolf By Night’s co-executive producer Brian Gay late last month, and in addition to discussing the future of horror in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I also asked the filmmaker about the input on the program that came from the franchise’s big boss. Starting off, Gay explained that Kevin Feige had a hand in figuring out exactly what the project would be – ultimately finding the middle ground between a movie and a series that is an hour-long special – and he was a supporter of the chosen direction for the material:
Kevin's a big fan of this and it felt like one of those, to what you said earlier, 'Is Werewolf By Night a series? Is it a movie? What could it possibly be?' And Kevin just got really excited about this idea that it was a special, because it feels different, it feels new, and this character is so unique. [It's] something we haven't seen before, a place we hadn't been before, and the more that Kevin came and looked at things, he like, 'Ok, this feels right. This feels like the right scope. This feels like the right sort of adventure, but also the right level of scare.'
Directed by Michael Giacchino, Werewolf By Night begins as a group of monster hunters gather together to both mourn the loss of one of their own, and compete to take control of the powerful magic he carried: the Bloodstone. The slayers are led into a labyrinth to hunt a creature, and told that the only weapons they can use are the ones they find… but what they don’t know is that in addition to the beast they are hunting, there is also secretly a monster among the group.
Making any adaptation of Werewolf By Night comics required Marvel Studios to fully commit to the horror genre, something they haven’t really done before, but that’s what they have done. The final result has more monstrous violence than audiences might expect from a Disney+ original. That being said, it also leaves a lot of terror to be conjured in the mind of the viewer, and Brian Gay explained that approach was one that was very much supported by Kevin Feige. Said Gay,
One of the things that he talked about and Michael was a big champion of was things are scary when you see them, right. When you see a monster, it's scary. But things are a little bit scarier when you don't see it. And so we spent a lot of time talking about that, of what do you see when they're in the garden? What do you not see? What do you just hear off screen?
Audiences will be able to experience all of the spooky sounds and terror of Werewolf By Night when the special presentation arrives on Disney+ this Friday, October 7 (just in time for Halloween). Since premiering last month, it has been earning quite a lot of buzz.
For more deep dives into everything MCU, check out our Upcoming Marvel Movies and Upcoming Marvel TV guides, and prepare for your next big rewatch by reading our Marvel Movies in Order feature.
