‘Werewolf by Night’ Is Exactly the Kind of Weird Stuff Marvel Needs to Do on Disney+

It’s about damn time. The release of Werewolf by Night marks a turning point in Marvel Studios’ trajectory that’s been a long time coming — and I’m not talking about the special presentation’s old school horror flair. Yes, this is the first Marvel offering that’s pure horror; Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness came extremely close, but that film was still a superhero movie with Avengers in it. Werewolf by Night, however, is a whole new beast entirely, a short film with an untried aesthetic, brand new cast, and lots of blood. But again — this ain’t what I’m talking about, re: turning point in Marvel Studios’ trajectory. I’m actually talking about Marvel Studios’ usage of the opportunity that Disney+ affords them. This, a loosely canonical diversion into a brand new genre with incredibly obscure characters, is exactly what Marvel Studios should have been doing on Disney+ all along.

Disney+ affords Marvel Studios something that very few franchises have and even fewer use: a training ground. With Disney+, Marvel Studios has a large platform with which to try out pretty much anything they want, be that weird genres or weirder characters. Up until the launch of Disney+, a Marvel Comics character had to be worth sinking $200 million into before they could make the leap off the pages and into live action. Characters that were bigger risks, like Ant-Man and Doctor Strange, had to be played by actors with built-in audience appeal. Disney+ changed all that. It gave Marvel Studios a way to introduce obscure characters and toy around with weirder ideas and beam them directly into the audience’s home or lap or pocket. No trip to a theater required, and the cost of a ticket was already paid for during last month’s billing cycle.

This is absolutely crucial to the future of Marvel Studios. Not every superhero is created equal, and you need look no further than Werewolf by Night’s titular lycanthrope Jack Russell (Gael García Bernal). Even lifelong Marvel fans may struggle to identify Werewolf by Night. He’s spent the last few years deployed in the comics as more of a punchline than anything else. He’s a werewolf whose name is Jack Russell? Man, the 1970s were bizarre. Werewolf by Night was never going to have his own movie. Yeah, he had his own comic in the 1970s — 43 issues over 5 years, which is pretty impressive — but his popularity waned with Marvel’s entire horror line. Jack didn’t even make a comeback during Marvel’s horror resurgence in the early ’90s, nor was there renewed interest in him after Blade hit theaters in the late ’90s. He was never gonna get a theatrical movie, but an hourlong special on Disney+ done in the style of 1930s Universal monster movies? Now, that sounds interesting… ! Granted, it took Marvel a few years of knocking out original TV shows starring A-list Avengers characters to get to this point, but at least they’re here now.

Werewolf by Night completely opens up the possibilities of what Marvel Studios can do moving forward. First there’s the obvious: it introduces MCU fans to Marvel’s classic line of horror characters, which we know will be further explored in next year’s Blade film starring Mahershala Ali. It also means that Marvel Studios can take even weirder risks with future “special presentations.” There’s potentially no runtime they have to meet, genre they have to avoid, or character too obscure. We could get a 90-minute Moondragon and Phyla-Vell cosmic romcom. There could be a series of 3-minute Howard the Duck shorts. Patsy Walker could get her own Hannah Montana-style sitcom. A 45-minute, black and white, film noir Jessica Jones mystery special? Yes please. Picture it: Dazzler: The Musical. Now that Marvel’s released a classic horror pastiche with this much panache, it feels like they can do literally anything.

This is also a way for Marvel Studios to test out new franchise leads. Jack Russell couldn’t lead a movie yesterday, but after potentially millions of fans fall in love with him and his sidekick Ted? Suddenly this forgotten werewolf is a lot more bankable. That’s potentially possible for any Marvel character. Does that mean we’ll see Slapstick or the Darkhold Redeemers or Foolkiller or Dakota North get their own movies or series? I mean… honestly maybe! Werewolf by Night kicks off an exciting new era for this 14-year-old mega-franchise… and, uh, I’m serious about that Moondragon and Phyla-Vell romcom. Give it to us, Kevin Feige.