Here are the answers…sort of…to the question of where in the MCU Werewolf by Night takes place. Marvel’s first Halloween special, starring Gael Garca Bernal as Jack Russell, premieres this week on Disney+. The character, who has comic book ties to other recently introduced heroes, is one of many who have gathered at a mysterious manor under the pretence of competing for a great and deadly premise. This is directed towards Marc Spector. In a lengthy interview with Steve Weintraub, the special’s director, Michael Giacchino, who is more known for his composing work on films like Up and Ratatouille, discussed the special’s timeframe.
He explained that tying the hour-long plot to the recent MCU shenanigans of She-Hulk, Shang-Chi, or anybody else wasn’t as important to him as following his own impulses for the programme. Giacchino has stated that while filming Werewolf by Night, he did not think about the special’s effects on the rest of the MCU. The composer-turned-director claims that he directed the film in the style of an episode of The Twilight Zone, with a stand-alone plot that doesn’t affect the overarching continuity, since he just couldn’t think of anything better to do. That was never a topic of conversation between us. What this meant for the history, present, and future of the Marvel Universe was never discussed.
The only thing we could agree on was that it takes place in the MCU (the Marvel Cinematic Universe). It certainly is. We never reveal the specifics of when, how, or why. We have made a major decision, so… Over the course of how many years have they spent masterfully stitching together this web of connections among all of these characters? In addition, I was at a loss as to how to make it better. I was at a loss on how to enhance it or add anything novel.
The filmmaker has stated that he and Marvel were given a great deal of leeway to experiment with Jack (Bernal) and Elsa (Laura Donnelly) as characters and that they were not hampered in any way by previous films or events: “Well, let’s just bring these folks in and let it simply be a self-contained tale,” I thought to myself. Imagine this as an episode of The Twilight Zone, and focus on just one night in Jack and Elsa’s lives, as I kept urging the audience to do. Then, where it goes after that is anybody’s guess. What we decide to do is up in the air at the moment. Where this leads, I have no idea. How this all pans out remains to be seen. But I didn’t think it was necessary to fret over any of that just now. I like that we were not required to do so, as I felt it allowed us to try something new and fresh. Everything was loosened up to the point that we could do anything we pleased without worrying about the repercussions. Therefore, we will address these difficulties and concerns at some future time. And for the time being, this is it.
Giacchino claims that he has a notion of how Werewolf by Night fits into the broader Marvel world, despite the fact that the special never explicitly tackles it, but that this idea will remain in his brain until he has “discussions still to be held with the powers that be over at Marvel.” According to him, it was just something he wanted to keep in mind to put his own directorial decisions in perspective: The rest of Marvel, including Kevin and Stephen and Brian Gay and everything, has yet to hear my detailed explanation of how this ties into everything. Yes, I’d want to have talks like these. But in my head, it’s important to have a frame of reference when creating anything like this, whether for the sake of your own understanding or to shed light on a character’s goals or intentions for an audience. However, I must emphasise that this is only my interpretation of the situation. It’s my interpretation of where things go from here; I needed it to get this far. But neither we nor I thought it was necessary to include it. As I started working on it, it became more about myself.
Can we expect to see Jack Russell in any more MCU properties following this that would shed light on when and where this special takes place? It’s possible, given that Jack Russell has important comic book links to the character of Moon Knight and that Gael Garcia Bernal is a huge star. Perhaps one of these guest stars will shed light on the mysterious time frame Giacchino has in mind for the special. For the time being, though, Werewolf by Night stands apart from the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
On October 7th, Disney+ will debut Werewolf by Night.