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Marvel's Disney+ Halloween special taps longtime MCU composer Michael Giacchino to direct
The spooky streaming special will star Gael Garcia Bernal, who is expected to play Marvel's Werewolf by Night.
Remember that Marvel Studios Halloween special we first heard whispers of last year? Turns out the mystery project is more treat than trick, and just took a giant step forward into the moonlight with the hiring of a director. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the spooky streaming event — slated for release on Disney+ at some point in the near future — will be helmed by none other than Oscar winning music man, Michael Giacchino.
Now, this might sound like an odd choice, given that he's more well-known for his iconic film and television scores, but who better to oversee this one-hour project than the prolific composer of the Doctor Strange and Spider-Man franchises in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? By the time July rolls around, he'll also have the Thor series under his belt following the theatrical bow of Love and Thunder.
Throughout his career, Giacchino has worked with some of the best and most accomplished filmmakers in Hollywood:
J.J. Abrams (Lost); Steven Spielberg (Super 8); Matt Reeves (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, War for the Planet of the Apes); Colin Trevorrow and J.A. Bayona (Jurassic World trilogy); Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille); Jon Watts (Tom Holland's Spider-Man trilogy); Justin Lin (Star Trek Beyond); Byron Howard and Rich Moore (Zootopia); Shawn Levy (This is Where I Leave You); the Wachowski siblings (Jupiter Ascending); Gareth Edwards (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story); Scott Derrickson (Doctor Strange); Lee Unkrich (Coco); Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit); Drew Goddard (Bad Times at the El Royale); Pete Docter (Up); and Andrew Stanton (John Carter).
After several MCU scores, he recently made the jump to the DC Universe with the score for Reeves' The Batman. It's hard to imagine the dude hasn't picked up a treasure trove of invaluable directing tips and tricks over the years. What's more: Giacchino already has experience behind the camera, having overseen the "Ephraim and Dot" installment for Star Trek: Short Treks in 2019.
The one-hour Halloween special, which still lacks an official title, is expected to kick off production later this month in Atlanta. Gael García Bernal (Motzart in the Jungle, Old) is attached to star and while his role has yet to be confirmed, the general consensus is that he's playing the lupine character known as Werewolf by Night. Laura Donnelly (Tolkien, The Nevers) is also a part of the cast.
Created by Gerry Conway, Roy Thomas, and Mike Ploog, Werewolf by Night bounded onto the comic book scene in the early 1970s.
The 32nd issue of his original publishing run served as the introduction for a little hero called Moon Knight. Perhaps you've heard of him? With Marc Spector swooping onto Disney+ at the end of March, we wouldn't be surprised if the new show ends up sowing the narrative seeds for the spine-tingling Halloween special.
