Werewolf by Night (TV special)

: "In our modern world, this is where monsters dwell, alongside those who hunt and slaughter them with pride. None more prolific than the Bloodstone family, whose patriarch has long controlled the powerful supernatural relic, the Bloodstone, a weapon unlike any other. But now, this weapon is in want of a new master, for Ulysses Bloodstone has died. Tonight is his funeral. Hunters have gathered from around the globe, strangers until this night, for a ceremonial hunt which will decide who next will wield the Bloodstone. And woe to the monster who finds itself among them."
: ―Narrator
Werewolf by Night is an American web television special, based on the Marvel Comics superhero of the same name. It is the first television special in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the sixteenth installment of Phase Four. The special is produced by Marvel Studios and was released on Disney+ on October 7, 2022. A colorized version, titled Werewolf by Night in Color was released on October 20, 2023.
== Synopsis ==
On a dark and somber night, a secret cabal of monster hunters emerge from the shadows and gather at the foreboding Bloodstone Temple following the death of their leader. In a strange and macabre memorial to the leader's life, the attendees are thrust into a mysterious and deadly competition for a powerful relic—a hunt that will ultimately bring them face to face with a dangerous monster.
== Plot ==
The Bloodstone family has been fighting monsters for years using the powerful weapon, the Bloodstone. Ulysses Bloodstone has died and it is his funeral. Jack Russell arrives at Bloodstone Temple for a challenge among monster hunters to gain possession of the Bloodstone. Russell walks around looking at fellow hunters, Liorn, Azarel, and Barasso. He then meets Joshua Jovan who compliments Russell's face paint. Ulysses daughter, Elsa Bloodstone arrives. Verussa Bloodstone greets her and condescends her for not continuing the monster hunting tradition.
Verussa greeted everyone and had the butler, Billy Swan, open the casket to reveal a puppeteered Ulysses explaining that the others would have to defeat a monster in order to obtain the Bloodstone. The Bloodstone will be attached to the monster, which will weaken it. Barasso claims that Elsa doesn't belong there, but Verussa explains that she will have no special treatment.
The challenge soon commences with Russell leading the way into the maze. Russell and Elsa run into each other, but Russell wants no conflict and suggests to pass each other. Jovan then charges at them, throwing Elsa into a wall. Elsa takes him down and escapes. She uses an axe as a weapon while she slowly makes her way into another room. Liorn emerges from behind a door and tries to shoot her with her wrist arrows. Elsa slices his arm off with her axe and then rids him of his weapon before using it against him to shoot him in the throat. Jovan then walks in, so Elsa hides in a ditch, covering the dying Liorn's mouth. Jovan suspects nothing, but takes the axe lying on the ground.
Russell makes his way to the monster, Man-Thing. Russell is glad to see his friend and plans on helping him escape, which was his reason for attending. Azarel then finds them, so Russell runs away into a room and closes the door. Elsa, who was inside, tells him not to close it, but Russell doesn't hear. When he closes the door, he realizes it is locked. Russell reveals his plan to her. They talk for a while in the room, which is an indoor graveyard. Elsa suddenly remembers that her aunt hid a key in her grave, believing she would be resurrected and would need a way out of the room. Elsa finds the key, along with grapnel and they break out.
Elsa goes to free Man-Thing while Russell plans to use a smuggled explosive to blow a hole in the wall for Man-Thing to escape. Russell tells her to call him Ted so he trusts her. Russell is unsure how to activate his explosive and asks Elsa if she knew, but accidentally does just that while fumbling with it. Russell and Elsa hastily split up and Elsa makes it to Man-Thing, finding Jovan as well. Man-Thing incinerates Jovan while the latter is distracted by Elsa, but trusts Elsa when she explains that she is with Russell. Meanwhile, Russell tries to attach the explosive to the wall, but has trouble getting it to stick. He finally does so just as Man-Thing charges through the wall and escapes, but not before Elsa gets the Bloodstone off of Man-Thing. Russell reaches for the Bloodstone, which throws him back and incapacitates him. Verussa, her guards, and the remaining hunters arrives and realizes Russell is a monster as well. Verussa locks up Russell and Elsa for helping a monster despite her not knowing he was.
Russell wakes up in a cage in the manor's main chamber and apologizes to Elsa, who is with him and, along with the other hunters, has correctly assumed him to be a Werewolf. Despite her distrust and hostility towards him, he explains that he takes measures to prevent harming others while transformed, locking himself away every full moon, and mentions the next full moon is in five days. Elsa reveals however that the Bloodstone can cause him to transform prematurely, making Russell's proposition to attempt escaping futile. Just before the other hunters enter the room, Russell profusely smells Elsa and explains that hopefully he will remember her scent in his Werewolf form, but acknowledges this method has only worked once before. Verussa and the remaining hunters then walk in, and Verussa uses the Bloodstone and a Latin incantation to transform him so he could kill Elsa. Verussa laughs at Russell through the cage, only for him to reach out and grab her though the bars. She screams, but is saved when her guards attack Russell. They back off only to find that Russell has broken out of the cage and escaped through the smoke. As they cautiously search begin to search the room, the now transformed and feral Russell ambushes the guards, pouncing on them from a nearby wall.
Russell then rampages through the guards and bites part of Barasso's ear off. He then goes into an adjacent hallway and kills all of the guards, flipping and rolling around them. The door then closes and he tries to claw his way out. Verussa takes the Bloodstone and blasts Russell back. Meanwhile, Elsa escapes and fights Barasso, slicing his neck. She then fights Azarel before slicing her neck as well and striking her skull with a sword. Elsa then uses her grapnel weapon to impale Verussa from behind and pull her away from Russell. She then grabs the discarded Bloodstone and approaches Russell, hoping that he will recognize her. Russell jumps on top of Elsa, but does in fact recognize her. He calms down and runs away.
Verussa then yells at Elsa for letting Russell leave. Verussa vows to kill her stepdaughter, but Man-Thing returns, grabbing Verussa from the sides and incinerating her before throwing her body into Ulysses' casket. Elsa tells Man-Thing that Russell left, who leaves to find him. A terrified Swan vows allegiance to Elsa and she tells him to clean everything up. Elsa then sits down in her chair holding the Bloodstone. In the morning, Russell wakes up in human form to the sound of Over the Rainbow playing on a phonograph. He finds Man-Thing playing solitaire and sits with him to drink coffee. He asks about Elsa's safety expresses relief to learn she survived. The two briefly argue over which one of them saved the other before discussing food, with Russell being reluctant to think of it due to the night's events but deciding they should get sushi.
== Cast ==
* Gael García Bernal as Jack Russell/Werewolf by Night
* Laura Donnelly as Elsa Bloodstone
* Carey Jones as Ted Sallis/Man-Thing
** Jeffrey Ford as Additional Man-Thing Vocalizations
* David Silverman as Flaming Tuba
* Rick Wasserman as Narrator
* Richard Dixon as Ulysses Bloodstone (voice)
== Appearances ==
=== Locations ===
* Arizona
** Bloodstone Temple
** Bloodstone Hunting Grounds
* British Columbia, Canada (mentioned)
=== Events ===
* Crusade Against Monsters
** Hunt for Man-Thing
** Massacre at the Bloodstone Temple
=== Items ===
* Bloodstone
* Ulysses Bloodstone's Axe
* Hawkeye's Bow and Quiver (art)
* Captain America's Uniform (art)
* Captain America's Shield (art)
* Mark VII Iron Man Armor (art)
* Arc Reactor (art)
* Asgardian Armor (art)
* Mjølnir (art)
=== Sentient Species ===
* Humans
* Werewolves
* Sasquatches
* Vampires
* Mermaids
* Demons
** Krogg
* Bat-Demons
* Rhino Lizards
* Horned Monsters
* Asgardians (art)
* Zombies (indirectly mentioned)
=== Creatures ===
* Spiders
=== Organizations ===
* Monster Hunting Cabal
* Avengers (art)
=== Mentioned ===
* Hawkeye (art)
* Black Widow (art)
* Captain America (art)
* Iron Man (art)
* Hulk (art)
* Thor (art)
* Elise Bloodstone
* Jacob Howell MacDougall
* David Long
* Mika Brandonen Kleyla
* Frances Brisbane Bloodstone
* Griffith Berke Wondonski
* Jorge Dewaldus Ralphones
* Annabelle Andrea Graciella
* Beverly
== Production ==
In 2003, Robert Nelson Jacobs was hired by Dimension Films to write the script for a Werewolf by Night film. It was due to begin production in 2006, but no further developments took place.
On August 3, 2021, it was reported that a Werewolf by Night series was in development for Disney+ and that the series would begin production in February 2022 under the working title "Buzz Cut".
On August 26, 2021, it was reported that the Werewolf by Night series would actually be a Halloween Special and that Marvel Studios had begun their casting search for the lead role of the special.
On November 4, 2021, The Wrap reported that Gael García Bernal had been cast as the lead character in the special.
On January 11, 2022, Deadline reported that Laura Donnelly had joined the cast of the special in an undisclosed role.
On February 22, 2022, it was reported that Michael Giacchino had been tapped to direct the special. Three days later, it was reported that the special would start production in March and wrap after a couple of weeks.
On March 11, 2022, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed Michael Giacchino's involvement and that the special would start production in late March in Atlanta. It was also reported that the special would not be titled Werewolf by Night.
On March 17, 2022, it was reported that the special was scheduled to start production on March 22 and wrap on April 9.
On April 21, 2022, it was reported that Laura Donnelly would portray Elsa Bloodstone in the special.
On April 23, 2022, it was reported that the special had wrapped production.
On April 27, 2022, it was reported that Ted Sallis/Man-Thing would appear in the special.
On May 17, 2022, Variety reported that the special would be released in October.
On September 10, 2022, at D23 Expo 2022, Kevin Feige officially announced that a Werewolf by Night "special presentation" would be released on October 7. That same day, Michael Giacchino revealed that he had composed the special's score and Peter Cameron revealed that he had co-written the special's script with Heather Quinn.
== Videos ==
== Music ==
* Werewolf by Night (Original Soundtrack)
Song title 	Artist 	Location(s)
I Never Had a Chance 	Teddy Joyce & His Dance Music with Jimmy Messene	
* Jack Russell arrives in Bloodstone Temple until Jovan gives him a friendly greeting.
Wishing (Will Make It So) 	Vera Lynn 	
* Plays on a phonograph in the garden.
Over the Rainbow(from The Wizard of Oz)	Judy Garland 	
* Plays on a phonograph at Man-Thing and Russell's campsite.
== References ==
The Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki has a collection of images and media related to Werewolf by Night (TV special).
# ↑ Marvel Confirms Werewolf by Night Release Date and Rating, Shares New Synopsis
# ↑ Jacobs joins ‘Wolf’ pack as writer
# ↑ Werewolf by Night Movie Update
# ↑ EXCLUSIVE: ‘Werewolf By Night’ to be a Disney+ series, Working title and filming date revealed
# ↑ Marvel is Seeking Latino Lead for Disney+ Halloween Special (Exclusive)
# ↑ Gael García Bernal to Star in Marvel’s Werewolf-Focused Disney+ Halloween Special (Exclusive)
# ↑ ‘The Nevers’ Star Laura Donnelly Joins Gael Garcia Bernal In Marvel’s Werewolf Halloween Special For Disney+
# ↑ Michael Giacchino Tapped To Direct Marvel’s ‘Werewolf By Night’ Series
# ↑ ‘Werewolf By Night’ Production Update (Exclusive)
# ↑ Composer Michael Giacchino to Direct Marvel’s Halloween Special
# ↑ Moviebuff1219 on Twitter - March 17, 2022
# ↑ Exclusive: Laura Donnelly is Playing Elsa Bloodstone in ‘Werewolf By Night’
# ↑ Marvel's Werewolf By Night Halloween Special May Have Already Wrapped Production
# ↑ Exclusive: Man-Thing to Appear in ‘Werewolf By Night’
# ↑ ‘She-Hulk’ Disney+ Series to Premiere in August, Drops Trailer
# ↑ D23 Expo 2022: First Marvel Studios' ‘Werewolf By Night’ Trailer and Poster Revealed
# ↑ Michael Giacchino Scoring Marvel’s ‘Werewolf by Night’ Halloween Special
# ↑ Peter Cameron on Twitter - September 10, 2022
== External Links ==
* Werewolf by Night on Wikipedia
* Werewolf by Night (TV special) on IMDb
* Werewolf by Night (TV special) on Disney+