WEREWOLF BY NIGHT Director Michael Giacchino Elaborates On Decision To Release Colorized Version

WEREWOLF BY NIGHT Director Michael Giacchino Elaborates On Decision To Release Colorized Version

Werewolf by Night director Michael Giacchino has talked more about the decision to release a colourized version of the Marvel Studios Special Presentation, explaining how it's influenced by classic Hammer.

By JoshWilding - Oct 03, 2023 06:10 AM EST
Filed Under: Werewolf By Night
Source: Marvel.com

Last Halloween, Marvel Studios released its first Special Presentation with Werewolf by Night. Directed by acclaimed composer Michael Giacchino, it introduced us to characters like the titular werewolf, Man-Thing, and Elsa Bloodstone, though we've yet to see any of them reappear. 

As the first MCU horror story, it was something new from Marvel Studios. The fact it was presented in black and white ensured the special felt unlike anything else we'd seen from the studio on Disney+, and it's set to return to the streamer later this month, this time in full colour. 

Giacchino recently spoke with Marvel.com about colourizing Werewolf by Night, explaining the idea first came up while putting the finishing touches to the original. 

"We started doing some tests, and we were like, that's cool. We were well into this a year ago - wanting to do this and share this. We thought after a year of people having seen it, it's been up there, it would be fun to reintroduce it in another way - in another version of what horror really is, which is in those old movies that I used to love growing up from Hammer horror films, which were these saturated colors and stark lighting."

"When we shot it, we tried to - at least in my head, I always knew black and white was foremost, the first version we were going to do," the filmmaker adds. "But I also kept an eye on what we were doing color-wise, in hopes that if we did a color version, it could be fun. So I think it's just a fun, nice way to reintroduce it to the world in a different way for them to experience Werewolf By Night."

Asked how Hammer horror movies inspired this colourization of Werewolf by Night, Giacchino made it clear they were at the forefront of his mind (meaning this version is every bit as stylised as its predecessor). 

"We were looking at stills from every one of those movies - I mean, it was across the board. It wasn't any one thing. Because they kind of had a house style, especially for the things that they were shooting on sets. The way they would light them, the way that they would push the colors in the scenes. As best as we could, we did that."

The director went on to admit he was initially concerned that the Bloodstone and Elsa's final scene no longer being the only things portrayed in colour would lessen their respective impacts. However, "[After] watching it, I still felt the same feelings. I still felt the same about everything. It's certainly a different experience than in black and white, but it's just a different experience. It's just, as I said, a new way to experience that story."

So, we've had Werewolf by Night in black and white and now colour, but what will follow next year? "3D! Yes! Yes, then we'll do the 1950s version of the movie where it was just 3D," Giacchino jokes. "Yeah, maybe. I don't know. That would be great. I'd be down."

Werewolf by Night arrives on Disney+ on October 20. You can also check out a new still below. 

JTR0070-101-comp-L01-ZOI-v0014-20230921-r709-53741
WEREWOLF BY NIGHT Director Michael Giacchino On Potential Sequel: We'll Get There
Related:

WEREWOLF BY NIGHT Director Michael Giacchino On Potential Sequel: "We'll Get There"

WEREWOLF BY NIGHT: New Marvel Legends Action Figure Offers A Closer Look At The MCU's MAN-THING
Recommended For You:

WEREWOLF BY NIGHT: New Marvel Legends Action Figure Offers A Closer Look At The MCU's MAN-THING

DISCLAIMER: As a user generated site and platform, ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and "Safe Harbor" provisions.

This post was submitted by a user who has agreed to our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. ComicBookMovie.com will disable users who knowingly commit plagiarism, piracy, trademark or copyright infringement. Please CONTACT US for expeditious removal of copyrighted/trademarked content. CLICK HERE to learn more about our copyright and trademark policies.

Note that ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.

Origame
Origame - 10/3/2023, 6:46 AM
Again, this simply isn't what Hammer films were. They were dark with the only vibrant colors being the blood.

Sleepy hollow by Tim Burton was basically the hammer version of the headless horseman (that was his intention) and you wouldn't say that color wasn't saturated.
MosquitoFarmer
MosquitoFarmer - 10/3/2023, 9:09 AM
@Origame - Hammer has a very large catalogue of movies, and not all look just like you've described.
dragon316
dragon316 - 10/3/2023, 6:52 AM
Be intersting to see Elsa bloodstone non red head it be nice change
hue66
hue66 - 10/3/2023, 8:09 AM
Liked it. Different and interesting. Thought they could have done more with werewolf look but if that's how he is in the comic then OK.
hue66
hue66 - 10/3/2023, 8:10 AM
Man-thing was cool
TheVandalore
TheVandalore - 10/3/2023, 9:48 AM
Idk what other folks opinions about this are, but this is my Halloween plans. I really enjoyed WBN and have watched it a few times since it's release and also really enjoyed watching my favorite YouTubers reaction videos to it. It's a fun lil flick. I actually wish they did more special features like this. I feel like mini movies like this should have been how some new characters were introduced. In fact, aside from WandaVision, all of the Disney plus shows would have been substantially better had they trimmed 95% of the garbage from the shows and just made really well paced and fun special features. Moon Knight felt unnecessarily long and drawn out considering the content we actually got by the end, that could have easily been a 2 hour special feature. Or even like 3 episodes.

But my point is, WBN just does the thing because it's short. It's easy to watch in one sitting and enjoy.

Also, people love rewatching the old MCU movies cause they arent a series. You can just spend 2 hours to watch the movie you want and then you're done. You don't have to invest in 12 bloated and unnecessary episodes to get a beginning, middle and ending.

So if the MCU is gonna make shows, they need to MATTER. Has anyone rewatched a single MCU show all the way through again? I bet there are a few, but the number is super low compared to how many have rewatched MCU movies... which is basically everyone here.
RedFury
RedFury - 10/3/2023, 12:54 PM
@TheVandalore - I totally agree with you. The approach they took with WBN worked out so well. It really would be in their best interest to introduce new characters the same way. It's quick, concise, and a great way to get the gist of what someone is all about without adding in boring plot lines to get a full season out of it.
PC04
PC04 - 10/3/2023, 11:53 AM
It'd be awesome to get more of these Halloween-esque specials...but MARVEL its not making many good decisions as of late.
View Recorder