Bad Bunny Will Play Marvel Hero El Muerto in New ‘Spider-Man’ Spin-off
It’s a new addition to Sony’s Spider-Man Universe
Bad Bunny (aka Benito Ocasio) will play the Marvel character El Muerto — a wrestler with extraordinary power, who is a new addition to Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU). The movie was announced during Sony’s panel at CinemaCon this year, with a tentative release date of 12th January, 2024.
Following the two Venom films and Morbius, as well as Kraven The Hunter (due to hit theatres on 13th January, 2023) and Madame Web (7th July, 2023), it’ll be the fifth movie in the SSU – a shared universe of characters related to Marvel’s Spider-Man franchise, for which Sony owns the rights.
How did he bag the role?
According to Deadline, Sony officials spotted footage of Ocasio in Bullet Train, in which he plays an assassin named Wolf, and offered him the role of El Muerto (aka Juan-Carlos Sanchez).
Ocasio made a presence onstage for Sony’s unveiling of El Muerto, though specifics of his appearance have yet to surface online due to rigorous leak prohibitions.
About the character…
In May 2006, the character first appeared in Issue Six of the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man comic. Initially hesitant to take up the mantle of El Muerto, a wrestling identity that has been passed down through his family for generations, Sanchez eventually donned the mask – which grants him increased strength and endurance – and challenged Spider-Man to a charity battle.
Spider-Man nearly murdered El Muerto by accidentally poisoning him, but the two would eventually band together to fight the villain El Dorado.
It’s uncertain whether Spider-Man will appear in the upcoming El Muerto film, however Sony has long expressed interest in bringing Tom Holland’s version of the web-slinging hero (who resides in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is only indirectly related to the SSU) into the franchise.
According to Variety, Ocasio’s El Muerto will be more in line with the SSU’s other villain-centric stories, with the rapper playing an antihero on the cusp of inheriting his father’s power.
The animated feature was originally scheduled to be released on 7th October, but has been pushed back to 2nd June, 2023. Prior to CinemaCon, the film was titled ‘Across The Spider-Verse (Part One),’ with an upcoming sequel titled Across The Spider-Verse (Part Two).
The ‘Part One’ and ‘Part Two’ branding has been dropped from both, with the sequel to Across The Spider-Verse currently being titled Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse with a release date of 29th March, 2024.
Morbius, the latest SSU film, hit the theatres earlier this month. It garnered overwhelmingly unfavourable reviews, with NME giving it one star. Lou Thomas noted in his review, the lack of compelling motives in his characters. Surprisingly, for a movie about a deranged doctor who transforms into a vampire, it’s also quite dull.
Meanwhile, Ocasio announced his sixth album as Bad Bunny, ‘Un Verano Sin Ti,’ via a supercar advertisement last week.
—Silviya.Y
