The Batman Composer Michael Giacchino Tapped To Direct Marvel's Disney+ Halloween Special
Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino is stepping into the director's chair for a Disney+ project, according to The Wrap. The composer, who most recently brought "The Batman" score to thundering life, has directed shorter works before, but this upcoming title — billed as an untitled Halloween special which is heavily rumored to be related to the Marvel comic "Werewolf By Night" — will be Giacchino's first foray into longer-form directing.
If Giacchino behind the camera doesn't immediately have us hooked, the details of the project are sure to do the trick: Gael García Bernal is set to star in the project. Though initial reports don't specify whether "Werewolf By Night" will be live-action or animated, Bernal is well-versed in both, building his career on performances in Spanish-language films like "Y Tu Mamá También" and "Bad Education" before taking a family-friendly role in Pixar's "Coco."
The Giacchino-Bernal werewolf collab we didn't know we needed
If sources are correct about the werewolf of it all, the Halloween special could draw inspiration from one of two sources, according to The Wrap. The first is lycanthropic Jack Russell, who appeared in the pages of Marvel Comics in 1972 and later in a series that launched the character Moon Knight — which, of course, is also an upcoming Disney+ TV show starring Oscar Isaac as a dissociative, god-possessed man. We may be getting ahead of ourselves here, but this means there could be a direct link between this special and the highly anticipated series that will debut on the same streamer later this month.
A second version of "Werewolf By Night" follows a Hopi Native American man named Jake Gomez, who first appeared in Marvel Comics in 2020. Since Bernal is of Mexican descent and the Jack Russell version of the character already has a Moon Knight connection, the first iteration of the werewolf seems more likely for this new special — though Marvel has mixed and matched inspirations from unexpected places before, so nothing is off the table.
Giacchino may initially seem like an odd choice for a director. No offense intended to the artist, who made some of my favorite music of all time with the "Lost" soundtrack, but the composer to director pipeline is relatively unconventional. But Giacchino actually does have directing experience under his belt: He's previously helmed the Patton Oswald-led short "Monster Challenge," along with an episode of "Star Trek: Short Treks." Plus, he has extensive experience in the MCU already, having composed the scores for "Doctor Strange," "Spider-Man: Homecoming," "Spider-Man: Far From Home," "Spider-Man: No Way Home," and the upcoming "Thor: Love and Thunder."
The combined powers of Giacchino, Bernal, and werewolves already make this sound like an irresistible Mad Lib of a project to me, but the fact that it's being referred to as a Halloween special is the cherry on top of this announcement. In our IP-heavy era of entertainment, we're overdue for a resurgence of holiday specials, and spooky season often delivers the best of the best. I can't wait to see Bernal (hopefully) go full wolf this Halloween.
The Disney+ Halloween special is set to debut in 2022.