Werewolf by Night is an outlier from the mainline Marvel Cinematic Universe in a number of ways. It's the company's first Halloween special, it's one of the very few open acknowledgments of Marvel's horror comics, and it represents several interesting new directions in the way the franchise looks.
Marvel takes a ton of criticism for feeling too similar from one entry to the next. Though one film might cover the exploits of mythological gods and the next might cover a hard-nosed spy, they still feel too similar in tone and presentation. A unique talent entering the fold might finally find a way to break from the pack.
More and more, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is beginning to feel like one long extended TV show. Disney has chosen to take this criticism to heart and start giving the entire franchise holiday events. The first example of this concept is the upcoming Halloween special, which will bring a classic 70s comic book character to the screen. Werewolf by Night is set to be helmed by Michael Giacchino, who is best known for his work as a composer, including his score for previous Marvel projects like Thor: Love & Thunder. His previous directing experience is limited. He has his name on a short film from 2018, and he held sway over a 2019 episode of Star Trek: Short Treks. Despite his relative newcomer status, the early looks at the feature make it look like something special.
The concept of the MCU doing horror cinema has been a hot topic in recent memory. It's perhaps the only genre of cinema to garner fan response on a comparable level to superhero media. Marvel has a long history of horror comics, occasionally originating some of their popular superhero characters in those series. However, the two close brushes the franchise has had with spooky stories have been messy at best. Marvel's horror series Hellstrom was released on Hulu to withering criticism, abysmal reception, and instant fan amnesia. On the other hand, Sam Raimi's Doctor Strange in Multiverse of Madness was seen as a controversial moment for the MCU. Some saw the Evil Dead director's eccentricities as a strong direction for the character and a unique statement in the franchise while others saw them as cheesy and wrong for the tone.
Marvel hasn't played as much with genre as one would think, given its massively expanding franchise. It generally does every new idea as a new costume that the standard superhero action formula can dress in. Romantic comedy exists alongside the action in Thor: Love & Thunder, but the two don't really interact, and it's still a solid superhero movie. All the spy skullduggery gives setting and context to Black Widow, but it doesn't make the proceedings feel materially different. Shang-Chi's Hong Kong martial arts pastiche is probably Marvel's best genre experiment, but it does descend too often into the old CGI tricks. From the looks of it, Werewolf by Night is aiming straight at the heart of the classic Universal monster movies and committing to the bit.
The film seems set to come to Disney Plus in classic black and white, which can be seen as a bit of a gimmick. In this case, however, it's turning the Halloween special into something of a throwback. Marvel isn't going for anything R-Rated here, this is firmly in the world of family-friendly horror. The look of the eponymous Werewolf is also leaning heavily on retro appeal. Its features are reminiscent of the comic book source material, but only in its 70s and 80s early days. Modern incarnations in the comics have a much more bestial appearance. When the Werewolf appears in the comics today, he's huge and only semi-bipedal. The special seems to be going for a more classic design in the vein of the classic Wolfman. While this may be less comic-booky, it all serves the same commitment to the conventions of the genre.
This may be a symptom of a larger issue. As the big names keep getting bigger, Disney will become more risk averse, forcing the aspects people love about the franchise to grow stale. With newer names, weirder projects, and newer talent in the director's chair, Disney could occasionally lend its name to something interesting. Werewolf by Night is one of the weirder ideas on paper, it could even seem like a cash-grab with the wrong explanation, but it seems to be made by people with genuine passion. Universal monster movies are a far-away shore for the franchise that has previously only managed superhero movies with new coats of paint. Fans will have to hope that the franchise is able to continue to expand its horizons to avoid becoming stale. New blood and new genres will be one of the most important parts of Marvel's strategy if the company hopes to stay as powerful as it is.