Best Marvel Project Is The One You Didn’t Even Notice Was Released in 2022

Summary:

• Marvel fans haven't seen anything original in the franchise in a long time, but Werewolf by Night, the 2022 Halloween special, is an exception.
• Though the episode is only a little over 50 minutes long, it is shot in an unusual style for Marvel – a black and white color palette and visuals clearly inspired by the Universal horror films of the last century.
• Werewolf by Night was a breath of fresh air and an encouraging step forward for Marvel, which unfortunately remained only one of a kind.

In recent years, almost every Marvel movie and TV series has been released with the hype that the studio has done something completely new, different, and original. But in the end, viewers almost every time get something as familiar and standard as possible.

Marvel has ventured into horror territory more than once with projects like Moon Knight and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which expanded the scope of how scary and violent this universe could be.

Still, such star-studded, high-budget projects could not be called daring, and the horror elements were not particularly scary, as they had to fit in with the overall development and tone of the franchise.

However, in 2022, Werewolf by Night was released, which can undoubtedly be called one of the most offbeat Marvel projects, with only one drawback — it only runs a little less than an hour.

Werewolf by Night is a One-Of-a-Kind Marvel Project

Werewolf by Night is a Halloween special directed by Michael Giacchino. Most viewers know him as a composer – Michael has been writing music for Star Wars and Jurassic World, Call of Duty, Spider-Man, and many Pixar animations. However, he has made no secret of the fact that he has been drawn to directing all this time.

Marvel is often criticized for its monotonous, neutral approach to imagery, but suddenly Werewolf by Night has a spectacular black-and-white palette, elaborate costume design, and mid-20th-century sets.

Werewolf by Night is obviously inspired by the classic horror films of Universal, which created its own universe in the 1930s and 1940s with Dracula, Dr. Frankenstein and, of course, the Wolf Man.

Werewolf by Night Plot

In the story, Ulysses Bloodstone, a famous monster hunter and owner of a powerful stone that can identify and weaken monsters, dies. The artifact was a family possession, but the heiress Elsa Bloodstone ran away from her father a long time ago and lost the exclusive rights to the magical weapon.

For its sake, Elsa must now take part in a competition with other hunters – the winner will be the one who finds and defeats a horrifying creature in the labyrinth that has a stone placed on its back.

Werewolf by Night Was a Promising Step Forward

Werewolf by Night is a small but interesting step forward for the Marvel franchise. Like many Phase Four projects, this is an independent story that brings new colors to the stylistic palette of the franchise and expands its possibilities.

It's just a shame that this step did not pave the way for other original and unique Marvel projects.