Having directed 2022’s Disney+ special Werewolf by Night, pun-loving composer and filmmaker Michael Giacchino will make his comic book debut with a new one-shot starring Marvel’s resident lycanthrope this July. Featuring art by David Messina (Ultimate Spider-Man), the comic, titled Werewolf by Night: Blood Moon Rise, will pit titular werewolf Jack Russell against none other than Dracula. It will also feature a back-up story by Jason Loo, writer of the currently ongoing Werewolf by Night: Red Band, “celebrating the character’s history and future along with various bonus material.”
Giacchino tells Entertainment Weekly, “It could be a lost story from the original [1972-77] run, in a way. It’s Dracula who has tracked him down to exact some revenge from the last time that they were together in the comics. There’s a fun twist to it that I think is going to be really interesting for people who are into Jack Russell and that lore.” He teases the presence of another character, whose identity should “probably” come as no surprise to fans.
He notes that when he was developing the Disney+ special, he considered having Jack battle “a rogue group of vampires that were doing bad things,” but maintains Dracula’s presence here was inspired by his love of Marvel’s ’70s horror comics in general, stating, “I like the monster stories. I like how they humanize what are otherwise described or seen by the rest of the world as awful creatures.”
He adds, “I think I would like to do something with the story that we created for television, but that’s got its own thing going and it doesn’t quite slot into what’s happening currently in Jack’s life in the Marvel [comics] world. So there’s a little bit of navigating there.” As for whether another Disney+ special starring Gael García Bernal‘s version of Jack Russell will actually transpire, he acknowledged the cutbacks streaming is facing, saying, “I think we’re just waiting for the industry to settle into its new norm, whatever that is at this point, before we figure out what to do there.”
When asked about writing more comics in future, he responds, “I never want to feel like I’m the kind of creative person that is doing the one thing over and over again. I’m always looking for something else that is fun to do.” He notes that his approach with Messina towards the art was to make it more cinematic than previous Marvel horror comics. Incidentally, Messina previously created the art for another property Giacchino scored, namely the tie-in comics for the 2009 Star Trek movie, Star Trek: Countdown, and Star Trek: Nero.
Blood Moon Rise will be released on July 30, shortly after the character’s current (and second) ongoing series, Jason Loo and Sergio Davila‘s Werewolf by Night: Red Band, concludes with issue #10 on May 28. It will arrive five days after the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe film Giacchino has scored, The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
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