A scene from 1954’s ‘Them!’ Photo courtesy of Turner Classic Movies.
After putting his love of vintage monster movies to good use with the Marvel Studios/Disney+ special ‘Werewolf By Night,’ composer turned director Michael Giacchino is taking things to the next level by helming a remake of ‘Them!’ for Warner Bros.
The original ‘Them!’ – a 1954 thriller about nuclear irradiated ants directed by Gordon Douglas – is one of the first giant monster movies and a classic of post-war paranoia sci-fi. According to Deadline, Giacchino “is meeting with writers in hopes of getting the production up quite soon.”
“There’s always a movie in your mind that never leaves your head,” says Giacchino. “For me, that’s ‘Them!’ It wasn’t until much later in life until I learned what it was about — the nuclear age.”
Adds the director, “What I love about ‘Them!’ is exactly what it’s called: ‘Them!’ It’s about the other, the unknown which one refuses or can’t understand. The current version of ‘Them!’ is about immigration, and to tell a story about the subject through a lens of this insane science fiction monster movie.”
Before helming ‘Werewolf by Night,’ he directed the short ‘Monster Challenge’ and an episode of Paramount+’s ‘Star Trek: Short Treks.’
(L to R) Composer Michael Giacchino and director J.J. Abrams on the set of ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.’ Photo courtesy of Michael Giacchino’s Twitter.
Giacchino has provided the score for all of his directing projects, and will do so again for ‘Them!’
Per Deadline, Giacchino “also plans to have his filmmaker brother, Anthony Giacchino, involved in the production of ‘Them!’ Anthony Giacchino directed the Disney+ documentary about his composer-turned-filmmaker brother, ‘Director by Night.’ Anthony Giacchino is also an Oscar winner, having won for the 2021 short subject documentary, ‘Colette.’”
“The Giacchino brothers made movies as kids around their Edgewater Park Township, NJ home. Michael would direct, and Anthony would star along with their neighborhood friends. Michael Giacchino worked side jobs as a teenager to save up to buy film stock. He used an X-Acto knife to make scratches on the film strips in order to make laser and spark special effects. He graduated from the School of Visual Arts in NYC where he studied filmmaking and later held jobs at Universal marketing and Disney publicity.”
“Eventually he segued to composing for videogames, one highlight being the Playstation game of ‘Jurassic Park: The Lost World’ which Steven Spielberg personally hired him on. It was through videogames that J.J. Abrams came to know Giacchino and hired him to compose for his TV series ‘Alias’ and ‘Lost’ as well as big pics ‘Star Trek,’ ‘Star Trek Into Darkness,’ and ‘Mission: Impossible III.’ His next score will be for Taikia Waititi’s sports comedy-drama ‘Next Goal Wins,’ due out later this year.”
Warner Bros Pictures President of Production and Development Jesse Ehrman – who’s overseeing ‘Them!’ on studio’s Burbank, CA lot – remarks, “Michael Giacchino is a unique talent. We’re excited to be working with him and have him at the studio.”
A scene from 1954’s ‘Them!’ Photo courtesy of Turner Classic Movies.
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True life stories are always good fodder for movies, and ‘Cassandro’ has a great, inspiring one to tell. Gael García Bernal, most recently seen in Marvel’s Disney+ Halloween special ‘Werewolf by Night’, is starring as wrestler Saúl Armendáriz, and a first look image is online.
Though scripted, the new movie comes from Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Roger Ross Williams, who wrote the script with David Teague and Julián Herbert. Williams and Teague previously worked together on their award-scoring ‘Life, Animated’, about a family who uses Disney animated movies to reach their withdrawn autistic son.
Though Armendáriz’ name might not be that well known outside of wrestling circles, his is a fascinating story.
An American-born luchador wrestler who grew up near the U.S.–Mexican border in El Paso, Texas, he was a young man with dreams of competing at the highest levels in wrestling. Armendáriz moved to Mexico and began training in one of the sport’s hotspots, Ciudad Juarez.
But while some thought his homosexuality would be a hindrance in such a machismo-driven industry, he soon rose to the top of the Mexican wrestling world by embracing a flamboyantly gay persona known as “Cassandro.” The character––who became known as “the Liberace of Lucha Libre”––proved to be a huge hit with wrestling fans, and he eventually became the first foreign-born wrestler to win a world title.
“Cassandro’ will release globally on Prime Video in 2023.
Cassandro is considered an LGBT icon and a legend in the arena of wrestling, so this is an important role for Bernal to get right. But he certainly seems to strike the right note and look in the initial image.
And 2023 is shaping up to be a big year for cine-wrestlers, as ‘The Nest’ and ‘Martha Marcy May Marlene’ director Sean Durkin is working on a new movie about the sport called ‘The Iron Claw’.
That drama has Zac Efron and ‘The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White bulking up to play part of the legendary Von Erichs wrestling dynasty. It’s also without a release date from A24 just yet but should be out at some point in the new year.
Directed by Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino (‘Up’), the short movie is the first ever “Marvel Studios Special Presentation” and introduces audiences to Marvel’s monster characters including Werewolf by Night, Man-Thing, and monster-hunter, Elsa Bloodstone.
The result is a fun and slick short film that has all the thrills and action you expect from a Marvel project but is clearly inspired by the classic Universal Monsters movies of the 30s, 40s, and 50s.
‘Werewolf by Night’ starts with a retro “Marvel Studios Special Presentation” logo, that is reminiscent of CBS’s “Special Presentation” logo from the 70s and is followed by a black and white version of Marvel’s opening film credits.
In fact, the entire movie (with the exception of the final shot) is in black and white, which adds to the classic monster movie tone Giacchino was going for. After the death of monster-hunter Ulysses Bloodstone, his acolytes assemble at Bloodstone Manor to compete for a powerful supernatural relic.
But Elsa soon discovers that Jack is keeping secrets of his own and is actually friends with Man-Thing. After the two pretend to destroy the creature, but actually let him go free, Jack discovers that the relic has the power to reveal any monster disguised as a human.
Verusa soon uses the relic to reveal that Jack is actually the Werewolf by Night. Now, Elsa must decide if she will help her new friend survive, betraying her family name, or assist Verusa and the other hunters in killing Jack Russell and the Werewolf by Night.
As a longtime Marvel fan, and one who grew up reading the classic comics of the 70s and 80s, I really enjoyed seeing these classic Marvel monsters all in one movie. Long before the MCU existed, Man-Thing was actually made into a terrible low-budget feature film in 2005. This Special Presentation completely redeems the character and is by far the best use of Man-Thing in live-action, ever! The character also looks amazing and is well used in the short.
Fans of the recent ‘Werewolf by Night’ comic book run by Taboo, Benjamin Jackendoff, and Scot Eaton, which featured Jake Gomez as the title character, will be slightly disappointed that Gomez is not included in the special. But this being the MCU, there is time to introduce that character in the future, and I thought Giacchino was wise to focus his limited time on Jack Russell.
As Russell, Gael Garcia Bernal is excellent and brings all the fear and vulnerability you would expect from someone that can transform into a monster. Once he does transform, I was really impressed with how the Werewolf looks, using practical effects rather than CGI. He looks just like he did in the 70’s comics.
In fact, the old school vibe of the film really works, and adds to the classic monster movie tone of the project. The use of Black and White, as well as the brief color at the end, were also smart directorial choices by Giacchino. While the composer has directed a short film and an episode of ‘Star Trek: Short Treks’ in the past, it is safe to say that this is the most high-profile project he has ever helmed, and I for one am very excited to see what he directs next.
Giacchino clearly has a feel for these particular Marvel characters, and a specific vision with the use of Black and White and the monster movie tone. He also had the right idea to go practical when possible with the effects, rather than using CGI, and of course the music is great and adds to the mood of the overall piece.
In addition to Bernal, Laura Donnelly is a stand-out as Elsa Bloodstone, but again, Marvel fans looking for her to transform into a vampire this time around, will have to wait from her next MCU appearance. Donnelly gives the character a lot of spunk and is both emotionally and physically strong in her action scenes as well as her dramatic moments standing up to her step-mother.
Harriet Sansom Harris was the weak spot for me in the acting performances, as her version of Verusa seems too over-the-top at times and doesn’t feel as authentic as Bernal or Donnelly’s performances. The other monster-hunters all bleed together and are rather forgettable.
Given the “Special Presentation” aspect of the short, it’s unclear where in the MCU we may see these characters again. With an upcoming ‘Blade’ feature film in the works with Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali, that’s probably a safe bet, but future appearances of Moon Knight or Kit Harrington’s Black Night from ‘Eternals,’ could also include some of these monster characters as they are all tied to each other in the comics.
Regardless of where we see Elsa Bloodstone or Jack Russell next, ‘Werewolf by Night’ is a blast and a really fun way of reintroducing these classic comic book characters to the MCU audience. Michael Giacchino proves that he is ready to do a lot more than just compose the music for movies with his sharp directing, and both Gael Garcia Bernal and Laura Donnelly give impressive and layered performances bringing these beloved characters to life on screen.
D23 Expo 2022 achieved peak genre fan love today with the Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, and 20th Century Studios presentation in the jam-packed Anaheim Convention Center.
You can watch Moviefone’s exclusive backstage interviews with talent by clicking on the video player above.
Disney chairman Alan Bergman took the stage of the center’s Arena to welcome fans and introduce tons of upcoming offerings from the House of Mouse’s most successful studios.
Lucasfilm got things started with a first look at what the ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Indiana Jones’ are up to. Lucasfilm president Kathy Kennedy presented a new look at ‘Andor.’ Debuting in just 11 days on Disney+, it begins five years prior to the events of ‘Rogue One.’
Courtesy of Lucasfilm.
Stars Genevieve O’Reilly (Mon Mothma) and Diego Luna (Cassian Andor) described it as the tale of “a revolutionary [learning] there’s a purpose. That there’s something to fight for.”
The two were joined by co-star Adria Arjona, whose character Bix Caleen has feelings for Andor. “She cares deeply for him,” said the actress, “sometimes to her own detriment. It’s complicated.”
The film’s final trailer was tenser and grittier than most ‘Star Wars’ we’ve seen before, with nary a cute sidekick in sight. The first three episodes debut on September, 21st.
Next up was a detour from ‘Star Wars’ with another Disney+ spinoff series – the return of ‘Willow.’ The 1987 film’s stars Warwick Davis and Joanne Whalley appeared – “At last we have some scenes together,” laughed Davis – alongside new co-star Christian Slater and presented a new trailer. It featured the returning Brownies, knights, sword fights, and a far greater number of female warriors than the original movie.
Courtesy of Lucasfilm.
There was lots more ‘Star Wars’ presented to fans when writer-producer-Force guru Dave Filoni appeared in his trademark cowboy hat and announced the first two episodes of the 16-episode second season of the animated ‘Bad Batch’ will drop on January 4th.
Filoni also offered a peek at a six-episode series of animated shorts called ‘Tales of the Jedi,’ half of which will star fan-fave Jedi Ahsoka Andu, with the other three featuring Count Dooku. All episodes drop on October 26th, and the trailer promises appearances by Anakin Skywalker, Mace Windu, Yoda, Bail Organa, and Darth Maul.
Filoni’s co-producer on ‘The Mandalorian,’ Jon Favreau, arrived from the midst of shooting the ‘Ahsoka’ live-action series starring Rosario Dawson. And ‘Spider-Man‘ director Jon Watts and actor Jude Law showed up to rep ‘Skeleton Crew.’ A live-action show about a group of kids who get lost in the ‘Star Wars’ galaxy, it’s a new story set, like Ahsoka, in the New Republic era.
Then it was turn for the cast of the third season of ‘The Mandalorian’ to take the spotlight: including Katee Sackhoff, Amy Sedaris, Giancarlo Esposito, and everyone’s favorite Mando, Pedro Pascal. The season’s first teaser revealed a platoon of sky-diving, jetpack firing Mandos, Mando and Grogu in a chase through space, lots more of Swallow’s mysterious Armorer, Sackhoff’s Bo-Katan Kryze taking command, and a regal-looking Carl Weathers.
Fans thrilled to the sight of a horsebound Ford racing though a subway, chases along the tops of trains, motorcycles chasing planes, the welcome John Rhys-Davies back as Sallah, and a very Toht-like Mads Mikkersen as the baddie.
A visibly choked up Ford returned the audience’s gratitude. ”No, thank you, said the veteran actor, “for making these films such an incredible experience. I’m very proud to say that this one is fantastic. And [Phoebe Waller-Bridge] is one of the reasons. Indiana Jones films are about mystery and adventure but they’re also about heart. I’m really happy that we have a really human story to tell as well as a movie that will kick your ass.”
“This is it!” he joked of his return to his most iconic role, “I will not fall down for you again! But thank you so much. Thank you James Mangold for picking up the pieces and making a spectacular film.”
Courtesy of Lucasfilm.
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Not to be outdone by Indy, it was then Marvel Studios turn on stage, with chief Kevin Feige introducing a live musical presentation of “Rogers: The Musical,’ with composer Mark Shaman conducting as a full Broadway cast cavorted on stage.
The most anticipated Marvel release followed – with a new look at November’s ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.’ The scene consisted of Angela Bassett’s Queen Ramonda defending Wakanda’s Vibranium reserve before an international committee, as the Dora Milaje thwart a mercenary attack on a Wakandan research center.
“Chadwick [Boseman] was with us every step of the way,” saidBassett of her late co-star. “He showed us the way.”
“I’m excited for my bro to look down on us and smile,” added Wright.
Courtesy of Marvel Studios.
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Coogler is also responsible for ‘Ironheart,’ the upcoming Disney+ series featuring Riri Willaims, Tony Stark’s genius-inventor successor in the MCU. A first look saw star Dominique Thorne confronting antagonist The Hood, played by ‘Hamilton’ star Anthony Ramos, a practitioner of the dark arts. Expect a unique battle of tech versus magic when the show drops next year.
A first look depicted Scott Lang flying high after the success of his autobiography, the return of his frenemy Jimmy Woo (Randall Park), and his daughter Cassie (now played by Kathryn Newton) opening up a whole world of trouble when she sends a signal to the Quantum realm, drawing the attention of the fearsome Kang, the cybernetic MODOK, new co-star Bill Murray, who plays an an old friend Michelle Pfeiffer’s Janet van Dyne.
“Have I killed you before?” asks Kang upon first meeting Ant-Man.
Courtesy of Marvel Studios.
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Fans won’t have so long to wait for Marvel’s first Halloween “Special Presentation” – ‘Werewolf by Night.’ Stars Gael Garcia Bernal and Laura Donnelly hit the stage alongside director Michael Giacchino, best known as the composer of many beloved Pixar film scores.
Shot in retro-style black and white, debut footage was reminiscent of classic Universal Monster movies – and revealed a quick shot of Marvel Comics’ Man-Thing in his MCU debut.
‘Secret Invasion’ next wowed fans, with star Don Cheadle offering a first look at the upcoming Disney+ series. Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury, Olivia Coleman, and ‘Captain Marvel’ Skrull Ben Medohlson appeared in footage that took the espionage side of the MCU to a new level.
“Sorry, I’m so confused right now,” said Quan, who debuted in 1984’s ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.’ “Is this NOT the ‘Indiana Jones’ panel?”
The footage featured the return of actors Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Wunmi Mosaku, along with the intriguing return of Kang as a sculpture Loki uncovers.
Marvel had more in store for Disney+ subscribers with ‘Echo,’ spinning off the deaf villain of ‘Hawkeye’ into her own series. Stars Alaqua Cox, Graham Greene, and Vincent D’Onofrio debuted footage that saw the return of D’Onofrio’s Kingpin (with a bandaged eye after the events of ‘Hawkeye’).
“To bring Fisk and Maya back together again was a thrill,” said the actor. “We had some crazy scenes.”
Though nothing was revealed of another Kingpin-starring project – ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ – star Charlie Cox presented a look at his blind hero’s appearance in TV’s ‘She-Hulk.’ The scene showed Daredevil flirting with Jennifer Walters during a stakeout, as he described his ability to hear heartbeats.
Courtesy of Marvel Studios.
More Marvel movies arrived with ‘Captain America: New World Order’ stars Anthony Mackie, Shira Haas (as Israeli superhero Sabra), Danny Ramirez, Carl Lumbly, and Tim Blake Nelson – back in the MCU after 14 years as The Leader.
“It’s amazing,” said Mackie of bringing his Cap to the big screen. “I’m nervous. It’s exciting. It’s everything I expected it to be.”
“I had such an amazing time with these beautiful women – inside and out. It was so nice to have a team. I have a team!”
Footage from the July release opened with Monica Rambeau in a space on a mission for Fury, before being suddenly body swapped with Ms. Marvel.
Courtesy of Marvel Studios.
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Last but not least… The panel concluded with a treat from 20th Century Studios, with director James Cameron dialing in from New Zealand, where he’s finishing the first of several ‘Avatar’ sequels, ‘The Way of Water,’
“Right now it’s pretty hectic around here. We’re finishing up a five-year production cycle. This has been a bit of an odyssey. Shooting and capturing for movie 2, movie 3, and the first part of movie 4. We’re finishing up movie 2.”
Several scenes of 3D were presented of the films’ new Na’vi warriors, with underwater footage drawing gasps from the audience.
“The whole movie deals with the protection of family and protection of familial love,” said Sam Worthington.
While he’s long established a career as a sought-after (and Oscar-winning) composer, Michael Giacchino is making a slightly surprising jump in the filmmaking world: he’s reportedly in the director’s chair for Marvels’ ‘Werewolf by Night’.
In case you’re sitting there thinking, ‘Whowolf By What?’ Is this some newly announced Marvel Cinematic Universe movie whose existence passed me by?’ worry not. It’s actually a Halloween TV special movie that will debut on Disney+ later this year. The news comes from The Hollywood Reporter, though the story was originally broken by Daniel Richtman on twitter.
The special will adapt the hairy character, which has had a couple of different incarnations through the years.
‘Werewolf by Night’ was originally created by Gerry Conway and Mike Ploog, based on concepts by Stan Lee and Roy Thomas, and first appeared in a 1972 issue of ‘Marvel Spotlight’.
The main character, Jack Russell is a descendant of the mystically altered offshoot of humans known as Lycanthropes, who eventually becomes capable of transforming on his own volition even without a full moon and retaining his intellect while transformed. He was popular enough that he starred in an ongoing ‘Werewolf by Night’ series that ran for 43 issues and ended in 1977.
Among other things, that series is notable for having the first appearance of the character Moon Knight, who will be brought to TV screens in the shape of Oscar Isaac, starting on Disney+ on March 30.
Composer Michael Giacchino at the 2019 Screen Music Awards
A second incarnation of the character, Jake Gomez, was introduced in 2020 via ‘Werewolf by Night (Vol. 3) #1’. Created by the writing team of Taboo (normally found making music with the Black Eyed Peas), Benjamin Jackendoff and Scot Eaton, Gomez, a member of the Hopi Native American tribe whose family has been cursed with lycanthropy, comes in conflict with a nefarious pharmaceutical company exploiting members of the tribe.
Quite what the show itself will be remains as mystery since Marvel and Disney are typically loathed to give out details before official announcements. We do know, however, that ‘Old’ star Gael Garcia Bernal is on board for the lead in this one, leading us to speculate that it’ll focus more on the Gomez angle while incorporating elements of both versions, a little how Marvel TV brought Ghost Rider to ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D’.
‘The Nevers’ Laura Donnelly, meanwhile, could be playing Nina Price, who becomes Vampire by Night. Price is the niece of character Jack Russell/Werewolf by Night and a vampire/werewolf hybrid. She carried the Lycan gene and was changed further after being bitten by a vampire.
And it’s not like Giacchino has zero experience as a director – he made a short called ‘Monster Challenge’, starring Patton Oswalt, which hit YouTube in 2020, and has also called the shots for an episode of ‘Star Trek: Short Treks’, which, as the title suggests, are short adventures for crews of the current ‘Trek’ series, including ‘Star Trek: Discovery’.
