It sounds like Kevin Feige is a big Man-Thing fan!
We recently learned that the Marvel Studios boss was a big supporter of 2005's rather dreadful low-budget Man-Thing movie, and Werewolf By Night director Michael Giacchino has now revealed that Feige was the one who suggested adding the fan-favorite swamp monster to the Halloween Special in the first place.
"We had so many of those conversations as you’re in development," the composer-turned-filmmaker tells Fandom when asked about the character's inclusion. "You’re working on the story and there were multiple ideas for different things and different characters. But, the thing that made the most sense...I remember it was Kevin Feige who asked me what I thought about him. And I was like, ’What, are you kidding me? [Man-Thing] is one of my favorite comic runs in the world."
Though Giacchino admits that adding Man-Thing to the mix came with a lot of extra pressure, he relished the opportunity to introduce three beloved characters to the MCU at the same time.
"These are two of my favorite characters and I’m gonna bring them in, but now you’re gonna give me this too?’ And I’ve got to bring all of this to the table. But it was all done out of love for these things. And hopefully that comes through and hopefully you feel that. Because I do love these characters.”
Man-Thing, or "Ted," is a major highlight of the special, so we're glad Feige made this suggestion.
Marvel Comics' other big green fella first appeared in Savage Tales #1 back in 1971, and while the character is often accused of being a rip off of DC's Swamp-Thing, he actually made his debut a few months before the Earth Elemental.
Though the majority of critics are still embargoed from sharing their Werewolf By Night reviews, those in attendance for the recent Fantastic Fest screening were allowed to post their verdicts, and Werewolf By Night is currently sitting at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes with nine reviews counted.
We'll be posting our reviews tomorrow, but for now, you can find my Twitter reaction below.