Werewolf By Night Was Meant To Have A Huge Marvel Cameo
Mahershala Ali was originally supposed to appear in Werewolf By Night but scheduling conflicts got in the way
With Marvel getting all over Disney+ in the last couple of years, there are more and more folks from the movies showing up on the small screen. It’s a time of great growth for the studio with things overlapping all the time in the stories. But one planned cameo from Mahershala Ali’s Blade didn’t come to fruition with the upcoming Werewolf by Night television special releasing for this Halloween season.
Apparently, Mahershala Ali as Blade was set to make an appearance in the show but scheduling conflicts got in the way of that happening. A massive disappointment to say the least because this would have been fans’ first chance to catch the Daywalker in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
During the Weekly Planet Podcast (via The Direct) it came up that there was a planned appearance by Mahershala Ali as Blade, but according to the former’s sources, it didn’t end up happening because the latter just couldn’t work it in with other priorities and productions. Weekly Planet host James Clement said that it was going to involve a “monster hunter” going to a “monster house” and that the stories would have lined up well for the character. But no dice on that one.
Werewolf by Night is set to be an hour-long special tied into the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is based on the comic book of the same name. Gael Bernal Garcia is in the lead role as Jack Russell (get it?) whose alter ego is the titular character in the story.
He can become a werewolf and is able to maintain most of his faculties. He will be joined by Laura Donnelly as Elsa Bloodstone and Harriet Sansom Harris as Verusa among others. They will be part of a larger group of monster hunters in the movie.
Werewolf By Night was written by Peter Cameron and Heather Quinn. Michael Giacchino is in the director’s chair for the special, having directed Star Trek: Short Treks in the past.
Meanwhile, while he won’t be in Werewolf By Night, Mahershala Ali has “technically” made his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, though we haven’t actually seen him in the “flesh” yet. That was in Eternals during the post-credit scene when Kit Harrington’s Dane Whitman comes upon the Ebony Blade and we hear Blade’s voiceover.
That was Ali, setting up the character officially joining the MCU. Because he won’t be in Werewolf By Night, we might be more than a year away from actually seeing the character. That’s because Blade isn’t set to hit theaters until November 3, 2023.
As for Werewolf By Night, that will be on Disney+ on October 7th. It’s part of Marvel’s new initiative to include one-off specials as part of their offerings though this movie definitely fits within the current continuity of series and movies.
And there’s some chance that this becomes something of a tradition for the studio, especially around the Halloween holiday which the story fits into thematically. We could see the Jack Russell character return in some form or fashion down the line after this initial introduction.
