Gael García Bernal Cast in Marvel’s Werewolf Halloween Special for Disney+

We learned earlier this year that Marvel Studios is developing a new werewolf Halloween special for Disney+, and today brings news that Gael García Bernal has been cast in the lead role.

The Wrap reports, “Marvel Studios’ search for a Latino lead for its as-yet-untitled Halloween special has ended, with Golden Globe winning Mexican actor Gael García Bernal set to lead the cast of the werewolf-focused show that will air on Disney+.”

The Wrap cites individuals with knowledge, who say the character Bernal is playing may be based on Werewolf by Night, a name used by two separate Marvel characters in the comic books.

The first character known as Werewolf by Night was Jack Russell, created by Gerry Conway and Mike Ploog based on concepts by Stan Lee and Roy Thomas, who first appeared in a 1972 issue of Marvel Spotlight and later starred in a Werewolf by Night series that ran for 43 issues ending in 1977. Russell is a descendant Lycanthropes, and that series was where readers were first introduced to Moon Knight, a character whose own Disney+ series is coming in 2022.

Marvel introduced a second version of the character, Jake Gomez, in the 2020 Werewolf by Night (Vol. 3) #1. This iteration of the character is a member of the Hopi Native American tribe, whose family has been cursed with lycanthropy, and he clashes with a nefarious pharmaceutical company exploiting members of the tribe.

We’ll have to wait and see which version of the character (if any) will be the inspiration for the new Halloween special.

The Marvel Halloween Special is expected to begin production in early 2022, presumably to premiere next October.

Obviously, we will continue to follow this project as it develops and will have additional updates as we learn more soon.

For more Halloween news, follow @HalloweenDaily.