Marvel’s Werewolf by Night is criminally underrated. The dark, neo-noir TV special is the most experimental entry in the Marvel lineup and it pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable in a mega-superhero franchise. That’s not to say it was perfect—It certainly had its haters, and not all viewers warmed up to its darker vibe. It was definitely an acquired taste.
READ: All the Movies and Shows Coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2023
But Werewolf by Night did tell Marvel one thing: fans have a hunger for a little darkness. If the success of Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was any indication, it is possible to mix horror into superhero films and still get blockbuster results. And according to longtime Marvel producer Stephen Broussard, Marvel’s experimentation with the dark side is far from over.
"We're starting to introduce some cool characters that are in the darker side, the more monster side and the supernatural and the occult in a very organic way as you're seeing these characters pop up," said Stephen Broussard to ComicBook.com. "I think in very organic ways, it feels like there could be ways to continue those stories in ways that feel very fresh and new and keeping our toe in that horror side of things."
With Werewolf by Night, Marvel dipped its toes into the comics’ rich archives of horror characters. The TV special was a one-off thing, but fans wouldn’t mind seeing Jack Russell (Gael Garcia Bernal), Man-Thing, and Elsa Bloodstone (Laura Donnelly) again.
Who knows? Maybe darker, horror-infused storylines and characters could save Marvel from superhero fatigue.
