How 'Werewolf By Night' Director Convinced Marvel To Let Him Make It

Marvel Studios

For all of its deserved plaudits, if there’s one major criticism that’s routinely levied against the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s that the franchise has become something of a monotone, monolithic affair, which is a fancy way of saying *everything* they do just looks, sounds, and feels like a well-oiled, pristinely-maintained Marvel production.

Their new “Special Presentation” Werewolf By Night, though, might be the first MCU project since James Gunn’s original Guardians of the Galaxy that truly feels like a singular, unique, and idiosyncratic entry into the beloved and ever-growing comic book movie franchise.

Ahead of the release of Werewolf By Night, BroBible’s Post-Credit Podcast sat down with some of the creative team behind the slice of horror homage heaven, including director Michael Giacchino.

Given how truly different Werewolf By Night is compared to other MCU projects, I simply had to lead with asking about how on Earth Giacchino — a famed composer who’d never directed something of this magnitude before — convinced the famously homogenized Marvel to let him make such a “film.”

Werewolf By Night director Michael Giacchino on how he convinced Marvel Studios to let him make a 1930s horror film

As Giacchino explained, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige once asked him if there was anything he’d like to direct, and Michael’s answer was immediately Werewolf By Night, as he believes Marvel’s monsters are characters with “real empathy and real problems and real struggles with humanity.”

Full interview with #WerewolfByNight director @m_giacchino 🎙️

-His pitch to Kevin Feige 🧠
-Empathy for monsters 🐺
-Classic horror inspirations 🎞️
-His most important piece of music 🎶#WerewolfByNight hits Disney+ on Oct. 7

pic.twitter.com/lPWdfBwmzH

— Post Cred Pod (@PostCredPod) September 26, 2022

In addition to the insight on how he pitched the project to Marvel Studios, Giacchino also gave us a list of old-school horror movies that fans should watch to put them in the mood for Werewolf By Night (or if they enjoyed Werewolf By Night and want to seek out more horror work like it):

The Wolf Man (1941),Werewolf of London (1935), King Kong (1933), The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), Poltergeist (1982), The Twilight Zone (1959-1964)

Werewolf by Night, which stars Gael García Bernal as the titular monster (a.k.a Jack Russell), Laura Donnelly as Elsa Bloodstone, and more, is now streaming on Disney+.