While it didn’t come as a total surprise, thanks to its existence being a bit of an open secret thanks to copious leaks, Marvel still managed to shock fans when the first trailer for Werewolf by Night dropped at D23 earlier this month as the first-look teaser revealed that the special would sport a unique feature that makes it stand apart from the rest of the franchise. Not only is WbN the MCU’s first Halloween spooktacular, it’s also the studio’s first project to be in black and white.
While the standalone special doesn’t scratch its way onto streaming for another couple of weeks, Werewolf by Night was just screened at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas this weekend, after which director Michael Giacchino was on hand to open up about the making of the special in a Q&A. In the process, the composer-turned-filmmaker explained the thinking behind the decision to release it in monochrome, admitting that it wasn’t always a done deal. Giacchino revealed:
“From the very beginning, I was always hoping we could do that. We didn’t know if we were gonna be allowed to do that while we were making it so we had a separate monitor that was only showing black and white so I could still check how it would look. Our DP, Zoe White, who is incredible, she and I desperately wanted this to be in black and white. And actually the first couple cuts that we put together were in color. And then I think maybe the third cut, we screened that one in black and white with Kevin [Feige]. And I remember when it was over, Kevin looked at me and goes ‘I think we have to release this in black and white, don’t we?’ And I was like, ‘yeah, I think we absolutely do.”
Giacchino went on to add that, although there was clearly some reluctance to the concept beforehand, once everybody saw the finished production in glorious black and white they all came on board, with the director surmising that “it felt like the right thing to do in the spirit of the story we were telling.” Especially given Giacchino’s inspirations for the special, as he’s highlighted Universal horror movies and The Twilight Zone as key influences.
It’s no surprise that it was ultimately Kevin Feige who declared Werewolf by Night had to be in black and white, as Marvel’s head honcho always throws his creative weight around, from She-Hulk‘s fourth-wall breaking humor to Mr. Knight’s costume in Moon Knight. In this case, it looks like he definitely made the right call. Watch out for the Halloween special on Disney Plus from Oct. 7.