Skip to main content

Michael Giacchino will direct Marvel’s new Halloween special

Composer Michael Giacchino is in the rare position of having two of his films in the current top five at the box office, thanks to The Batman and the staying power of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Now, Giacchino is expanding his reach by directing a new live-action project for Marvel Studios.

Via The Hollywood Reporter, Marvel has signed the renowned composer to helm a one-hour Halloween special for Disney+ that is reportedly based upon Marvel’s Werewolf by Night comic book. This won’t be Giacchino’s first time in the director’s chair, but it is by far the biggest project he has ever helmed. Giacchino previously directed an episode of Star Trek: Short Treks and his own short film, Monster Challenge.

Recommended Videos

Marvel previously lined up two of its leads for this special. Gael Garcia Bernal will play the werewolf, but it’s unknown if it will be the first Werewolf by Night, Jack Russell, or the second one, Jacob Gomez. Laura Donnelly is rumored to be playing Nina Price, Jack’s niece, who headlined the Vampire by Night comic stories. Unlike her uncle, Nina is both a vampire and a werewolf.

The cover for the Werewolf By Night comic book.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Giacchino’s resume as a composer is awe-inspiring. He has provided the music for several of Pixar’s biggest hits, including The Incredibles, Incredibles 2, Ratatouille, Up, Cars 2, Inside Out, Incredible 2, Coco, and the upcoming film Lightyear. He also scored the Star Trek reboot films, Jurassic World, and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Prior to scoring Marvel Studios’ trilogy of Spider-Man films, Giacchino also wrote the music for Doctor Strange. He will return to the Marvel fold later this year with the score for Thor: Love and Thunder.

Marvel Studios’ Halloween special will begin filming soon, and it is expected to premiere this October on Disney+.

Blair Marnell
Blair Marnell has been an entertainment journalist for over 15 years. His bylines have appeared in Wizard Magazine, Geek…
Which Marvel villains should be in Tom Holland’s Spider-Man 4?
Tom Holland as Spider-Man in "Spider-Man: Homecoming."

The MCU has plenty of upcoming projects that fans are excited about, but a potential fourth entry in Tom Holland's Spider-Man series is near the list's top. 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home ended with Holland's Peter entering a new phase in his life. Forgotten by the world and with no one left by his side, Peter is now closer to the perpetually down-on-his-luck version from the comics that fans have come to know and love. The ending is the perfect setup for a new Spidey adventure, with Spider-Man acting as the street-level hero he was always supposed to be. But who should he fight in his new adventure, especially now that he has no Avengers or Avengers-adjacent allies by his side?

Well, the possibilities are limitless. After all, Spider-Man has some of the best and most iconic villains in Marvel comics, and while many have already appeared in the Web Slinger's numerous live-action projects, some remain untouched by the film industry. From fearsome crime bosses to chameleonic supervillains, these infamous foes would make worthy enemies for Holland's Spider-Man.
Chameleon

Read more
Enter Nick Fury’s world in a new Secret Invasion featurette
Samuel L. Jackson in Secret Invasion.

In 2008, Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury established himself as one of Marvel's power players in the post-credits scene of Iron Man. And this summer, Fury is finally getting his MCU spotlight in Secret Invasion, a new Disney+ original series that follows up on the events of Captain Marvel three decades later. Remember the innocent Skrull refugees from that film? They've all grown up bitter about not having a home of their own. That's why the Skrulls have decided to make Earth their new world, and they don't care how many humans they have to kill to make that happen.

Marvel Studios’ Secret Invasion | Featurette | Disney+

Read more
Sony’s Spider-Man movies and Venom finally come to Disney+
Spider-Man crawling on the side of a skyscraper in a poster for "Spider-Man" (2002).

Disney+ has often billed itself as "the home of Marvel," and the streaming service has already reclaimed its original series from Netflix, as well as the R-rated Fox movies Deadpool, Deadpool 2, and Logan, to shore up its lineup. Now, the most iconic Marvel hero of them all is coming home. Disney+ has announced that multiple Spider-Man movies and the first Venom film are coming to the service this spring.

Starting tomorrow, Friday, April 21, Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy will make its debut on Disney+. These are the films that helped jump-start modern superhero cinema, and the first two, Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2, rank among the greatest comic book flicks ever made. Spider-Man 3 isn't quite as beloved, nor is 2012's reboot, The Amazing Spider-Man. Regardless, both will also be on Disney+ tomorrow.

Read more