Anyone can rhyme off the most prominent merits of streaming services; you don’t have to leave the house, you can pause your show or movie at any point to refill your snacks or use the bathroom, and you don’t have to worry about sharing a room with strangers who don’t understand cinema etiquette.
But one of the hidden aspects of streaming-exclusive content is that it needn’t adhere to the Hollywood standards that have caused many a creative groan, and there are few better examples than comparing the Marvel Cinematic Universe‘s theatrical releases to some of its Disney Plus exclusives; projects like WandaVision, What If…?, and even Moon Knight could never have reached the heights they did without the freedom that streaming platforms have offered them.
But Werewolf by Night looks to be taking this to the next level; the 53-minute standalone MCU project marks not only a continuation of Phase Four’s more adventurous endeavors, but also the first time the franchise has used a television special format to tell one of its stories. Previously, the stories had only ever taken the form of films and episodic shows.
As if that wasn’t enough, the creative team behind Werewolf by Night went with the particularly curious decision to present the special in black and white, further highlighting the deviation that the MCU is taking advantage of with streaming.
In an interview with ComicBook.com, executive producer Brian Gay outlined the stylistic choices behind the black and white palette, noting that it perfectly encapsulates the essence of the old-school monster movie aesthetic they were aiming for, as well as a sign of a cheeky departure from what we usually expect out of the MCU.
“I think the black and white is something that makes it special and makes it, I’ll call it just like a little bit of an extra twist on top that makes you, ‘Oh, this is really different and this is cool.’ There’s a stylization to it that not only is an homage to those classic monster movies but just feels new within the MCU.”
Werewolf by Night is now streaming on Disney Plus. You can read our review here.