DISCLAIMER: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!! 

Please do not continue reading this article if you intend on seeing this hour-long Halloween special since it does contain major Werewolf By Night spoilers (originally released exclusively on Disney+ on October 7th).

PREVIOUS ARTICLES

Go check out the previous Werewolf By Night article titled “Marvel Studios’ Special Presentation: Werewolf By Night Official Trailer Breakdown and Hidden Details” which breaks down  the minute and a half trailer of the next Marvel Studios’ Special Presentation: Werewolf By Night by Val Kohan. 

https://talonnews.org/985/entertainment/marvel-studios-special-presentation-werewolf-by-night-official-trailer-breakdown-and-hidden-details/

Go check out the previous Werewolf By Night article titled “Marvel Studios’ Special Presentation: Werewolf By Night Official Trailer Breakdown and Hidden Details” which breaks down Marvel Studios’ first special presentation of the hour-long Halloween special, Werewolf By Night. Fans are absolutely raving about this spooky special that paid homage to classic horror like The Twilight Zone and of course the Universal Monster movies most notably The Wolf Man. Included is an opinionated review by Val Kohan. 

https://talonnews.org/1216/entertainment/marvel-studios-special-presentation-werewolf-by-night-review-and-breakdown/

Werewolf By Night Cast

The cast includes Gael García Bernal (Jack Russell/Werewolf by Night), Laura Donnelly (Elsa Bloodstone), Carey Jones (Ted/Man-Thing), Harriet Sansom Harris (Verussa), Kirk R. Thatcher (Jovan), Eugenie Bondurant (Azarel), Leonardo Nam (Liorn), Daniel J. Watts (Barasso), Rick D. Wasserman (Narrator), and Richard Dixon (voice of Ulysses Bloodstone). 

“There’s no escaping the night.” 

HIDDEN DETAILS/EASTER EGGS: 

• Werewolf By Night has been described as a “complete love letter” to classic horror so there was no doubt the opening would do anything short of that. The special starts off with multicolor lines declaring it is a “Marvel Studios’ Special Presentation”. Meaning Werewolf By Night is the first Marvel Studios project that is not in the form of a theatrical film or a weekly streaming series. The special presentation visuals from the get-go prove that the special will be a throwback to more vintage horror. The sounds playing during this are a nod to the CBS Special Presentation theme from the 80s and 90s. Marvel truly went all out to make Werewolf By Night something never before seen in the MCU and it is perfect to say the least so far. 
• If you were a fan of the special presentation, the hour special, Marvel Studios has many projects in store for the next couple of years. Some even are unannounced but still rumored. This will shift the Marvel formula completely as it is the first hour special on Disney+. But similar to the Disney+ launch of WandaVision, there are many specials to come. The special presentation will be back soon this coming December for The Guardians of the Galaxy: Holiday Special. It is still unknown but at the rate Marvel is going, will the special presentations only be for holiday specials?? 
• Michael Giacchino made his directorial debut on Marvel Studios’ Special Presentation: Werewolf By Night. This academy award winning music composer hasn´t had much experience in the director’s chair other than various short films. This being said he is connected to big name, blockbuster, films such as The Batman (which lets all agree is one of the best Batman scores which is a heavy statement as it is compared to the impeccable Danny Elfman), Rogue One, Coco (also starring Gael García Bernal), and has even worked with Marvel Studios previously composing Doctor Strange and all three Spider-Man films including the most recent one, Spider-Man: No Way Home. So fans were quite skeptical about him taking on double duty as both the director and composer. Round of applause to Michael Giacchino who completely knocked it out of the park. Between the emotion from the characters, the storyline, and especially the cinematography. But I think we must all praise him on of course the score for the film, which ultimately gave me chills and reminded me so much of those classic horror movies, especially those high pitch violins. Fans have him to thank for the new fan-favorite score for the Marvel Studios opening montage. Not only was the sequence black and white but also included burns in the film with balck circles flickering, or freeze frames, and even footage skipping to give it that gothic and vintage feel. 
• Did Marvel just debut their next Groot like character?? The answer may surprise you. The main protagonists in Werewolf By Night were most notably Jack Russell and Elsa Bloodstone but let’s all agree who really stole the show… Man-Thing. Just for him to go by Ted sealed the deal. Gentle giant-like characters always find a way to fans´ hearts like Groot. Fans are raving how comic accurate Man-Thing´s design is and how perfectly it was portrayed in a live-action setting. Just between the expressive eyes, movements, and slurred language it just makes fans love him even more. Man-Thing´s true identity is subtly teased throughout the special as he is referred to by his real name, Ted. Man-Thing is a swamp-like creature and on him flowers and mushrooms grown on him can be seen. 
• Fun Fact: The Book of Boba Fett actor, Carey Jones, who played Krrsantan, the wookie bounty hunter, is actually Ted/Man-Thing. 

• The animatronic or reanimated corpse who states, “Good luck, I’ll be rotting for you”, is in fact Ulysses Bloodstone as fans suspected. Ulysses Bloodstone is the father of Elsa Bloodstone, is a former leader of a monster hunting squad and passed down his sport to his daughter. He was granted immortality while wielding the bloodstone. In the comics, she is the daughter of the legendary monster hunter, Ulysses Bloodstone, and inherited the jewel of her family’s surname, the Bloodstone. The gemstone endowed her with superhuman abilities and powers to continue her father’s legacy in the fight against evil. The special changed some of the details surrounding this but the main plot of Werewolf By Night strikingly relied on the bloodstone. It follows a group of monster hunters who are gathered at the Bloodstone Manor. They were brought there due to Ulysses Bloodstone’s death as Verussa, his widow, is raffling off his precious family gem of the bloodstone. 
• Hanging in the Bloodstone Manor are the heads of various monsters Ulysses hunted over the years. All these monsters can’t be missed but some have hidden meanings behind them hinting at upcoming Marvel projects. A vampire in a more demonic form can be seen in the manor, many have described this form seen in Werewolf By Night as the ones seen in Morbius based on the design. Fans are speculating that with the upcoming release of Blade this is a subtle way to tease the vampire hunter. Of course Marvel comics are full of monster hunters, most notably, Blade, a fan-favorite anti-hero who has dedicated his entire life to vampire hunting. Wesley Snipes is the most known Blade actor but the character has been rebooted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with an upcoming movie starring Mahershala Ali. Originally Mahershala Ali was going to make his debut in Werewolf By Night as Blade but scheduling conflicts got in the way. Though the character Blade was introduced in The Eternals credit scene being teased while Dane Whitman wielded the Ebony Blade. Marvel has been slowly introducing the Midnight Sons in the MCU for quite some time now. Some other monsters seen are sirens, chernabog, a minotaur, wendigo, and a sasquatch. 
• Werewolf By Night opens with carved pictures of the original six Avengers (Hawkeye, Black Widow, Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, and Thor). “The known universe with its heroes and marvels, but what about the darkness?” While this is being narrated a slew of these carved drawings can be seen. Fans were not expecting to see a Thor: Love and Thunder reference in this special but one of the drawings features Gorr the God Butcher. The image, however, is of his comic design with his horns (or tendrils) while being killed by a hunter. This image was taken directly from the comics when Gorr the God Butcher was killed by Thor. “In our modern world, this is where monsters dwell, alongside those who hunt and slaughter them with pride.” 
• Throughout the last couple Disney+ series like Moon Knight and She-Hulk: Attorney At Law. Marvel has been hiding scannable QR codes in each episode that brings viewers to a free comic book. Marvel is always sneaky with adding in comic details into their live-action renditions. Werewolf By Night is not much different but rather than adding in hidden QR codes, Marvel had another way of referencing the comics. While Jack and Elsa are stuck in the mausoleum surrounded by tombs. Each grave refers to a creator or worker who had a crucial role in the comic character of Werewolf by Night. The creators of Werewolf by Night and Man-Thing, Gerry Conway and Mike Ploog, whose casket is under “Conway Ploog”. Some other names can that be found is Brian Gay (Executive Producer), David Long (Props), and Brandon Kleyla (Art Director). All the names listed above were found and pointed out by ScreenRant.
• Werewolf By Night paid homage to classic horror like The Twilight Zone and of course the Universal Monster movies most notably The Wolf Man. To truly get that horror style the special released in black and white for the true spirit of the story of Werewolf by Night. Saying it is a “complete love letter” to classic horror. There were ultimately two sets of shots, one in color and the other in black and white. While the vintage cut was shown to President of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige, he said, “I think we have to release this in black and white, don’t we?” Werewolf By Night shifts the Marvel formula completely which is a huge risk but a necessary one to take while releasing such a special. This will pave the way for more daker Marvel projects. Once Elsa is rewarded the bloodstone and claims it as her own, which is rightfully so. At the end of the special the black and white visuals slowly turn to color as Judy Garland’s rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” plays. One aspect Marvel did so perfectly was that it was all in black and white and the only pop of color was the red glow from the bloodstone. The first color to be seen while the visuals are turning color is bed. The color goes from the bloodstone to Elsa Bloodstone’s red leather jacket. Though it is unknown why the special turned color at the end of the special other than paying homage to The Wizard of Oz. However, ScreenRant theorized, “It could be seen that while her family only saw things as good and evil [black and white], she could see all the color and nuance between the two.” Many fans are comparing this to the Thor vs. Gorr fight scene in the Shadow Realm which was also all in black and white with sepia tone colors but their [Thor, Mighty Thor, and Valkyrie’s] weapons created light with a pop of color. Werewolf By Night is also similar to the ending of the second episode of WandaVision, “Don’t Touch That Dial”. This episode was supposed to be like a 60s sitcom, so the entire episode is all in black and white. But at the end the black and white color scheme turns to color and the first color seen is red. 

• Once again not only was the sequence black and white but also included burns in the film with black circles flickering, or freeze frames, and even footage skipping to give it that gothic and vintage feel. 
• Many suspected the guards seen in the trailers to be a part of the TVA based on their design and weapons. This was not the case, it wasn’t the Time Variance Authority and only seemed to act like Verussa’s own private security. They’re weapons were quite similar to the ones seen and used by the TVA in Loki. ScreenRant said, “This begs whether they are actually the TVA or were intended to elicit a sense of strange familiarity for the fans in a haunting new world.” Fans have been questioning if the TVA will ever be involved in Jack Russell and/or Man-Thing’s storyline. Since in the comics the Darkhold plays a major role in Jack Russell’s comic storyline relies on the book of the damned. The book of dark magic reactivated the family curse burdening him turning into a werewolf. Den of Geek points out that “if one can use the Darkhold to take over alternate versions of one’s self, it’s easy to see how a variant could be created, which would catch the attention of the TVA.” Will they tie the Darkhold to Werewolf by Night and have it all connect in the MCU or leave it as is?? 
• Throughout the entire special it is hinted that Jack Russell has a monster counterpart. First when Verussa states all of the hunters kills, Jack in which has the highest kill count, but does he really?? Because it is Werewolf by Night who does all the killing. When Jack and Elsa are stuck in the mausoleum, before Jack sits down he turns in a circle before he sits on the floor. Jack also scratches himself a lot while captured in the cage. Both of these mannerisms are dog-like. 

Werewolf By Night is now streaming on Disney+!!