A Spider-Man Villain Is Getting Their Own Solo Spinoff, See The Surprise Casting
The latest Spider-Man solo spin-off film announcement has some pretty big surprises and we are here to break them down for you.
The Spider-Man cinematic universe is getting yet another expansion, as rapper/actor/wrestler Bad Bunny has been cast as El Muerto in an upcoming film from Sony Pictures. Bad Bunny has recently been expanding into more acting roles and has notably appeared on several different World Wrestling Federation programs. Fortunately for casting, El Muerto is a Latino wrestling-themed character who has come into conflict (and also cooperation with) Peter Parker’s Spider-Man, so Bad Bunny is pretty much perfect casting for the role. The El Muerto solo film is currently scheduled to release in theaters on January 12, 2024, which is pretty optimistic of Sony considering how often and suddenly films are being delayed these days.
El Muerto will be part of the Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, the odd but increasingly successful overlapping films made about Spider-Man mythos, but definitely without Spider-Man in them. After the relative disappointments of the Andrew Garfield Amazing Spider-Man films, Sony essentially leased the character to Disney for inclusion in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a decision that has currently made most of the money that has ever existed. Lacking their tentpole character, Sony has been developing films around characters from Spidey-related Marvel Comics but with new origins and less connection to Peter Parker (although there have been increasing signs of crossovers with the MCU). The Tom Hardy-starring Venom and Venom: Let There Be Carnage were financially successful to greenlight Jared Leto in Morbius; despite the increasing evidence that no one has ever wanted to see Leto in a comic book adaption, it looks like they are sticking with it.
Next up for the Spider-Man-less Sony movies is the Kraven the Hunter movie, which will star Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the titular character, Russell Crowe in an undisclosed role (but c’mon, it’s going to be his dad), and recent Academy-Award winner Ariana DeBose. Following that, a Madame Web movie with Dakota Johnson and Sydney Sweeney is currently in pre-production, as well as several sequels to the 2018 animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. El Muerto seems like it will be a third-generation of Sony comic book adaptations, by which point there will probably also be announcements for movies based around Hypno-Hustler, Spidercide, and a prequel starring young and very jacked Uncle Ben. That’s our prediction, anyway.
In Marvel Comics, El Muerto has only appeared in two issues so far; the character fought Spider-Man in a J. Jonah Jameson-sponsored wrestling match, and then later teamed up with him to fight his ancestral enemy known as El Dorado. El Muerto will be Sony Pictures’ first comic book adaptation with a Latin lead; the DCEU is also currently planning their first Latin-led film with the upcoming Blue Beetle. In comics, El Muerto receives his powers from a mystical mask, which ties in with the Mexican tradition of lucha libre wrestling. Bad Bunny is currently set to star in the upcoming Brad Pitt action-comedy Bullet Train, so it looks like he is getting ready to go all-in with Hollywood.
