In the wake of the writer’s strike, Bad Bunny’s Spider-Man spinoff project El Muerto will have its production start late this summer.
What’s going on with El Muerto?
Per The Direct, Sony’s Spider-Man universe film is listed on the Film & Television Industry Alliance (FTIA) database with a new start date of August 7th on location in Los Angeles. The production change alongside the WGA strike affecting the entire entertainment industry signals a likely delay in El Muerto’s original release date of January 12, 2024. Sony has not confirmed a delay.
Announced in 2022, El Muerto will serve as the first lead role for hip-hop star Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio (a.k.a. Bad Bunny). Created by Peter David and Roger Cruz, Juan-Carlos Sanchez/El Muerto made his Marvel Comics debut in the pages of Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #6 in 2006. With power generated from a luchador’s mask passed down from the wrestlers who donned it, Sanchez gains super-strength and endurance to become El Muerto. Though he began as a Spider-Man foe, El Muerto eventually fought alongside the Wall Crawler against his nemesis El Dorado.
Bad Bunny took part at CinemaCon 2022 to announce El Muerto with great excitement. In October 2022, Jonás Cuarón, son of Gravity director Alfonso Cuarón, was announced as director with Blue Beetle screenwriter Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer set to pen the El Muerto script. As of April, El Muerto was considered “at a standstill” according to Bad Bunny’s publicist.
While El Muerto’s future is not completely certain, Sony will continue to move ahead with their upcoming Spider-Man spinoffs Madame Web starring Dakota Johnson, Kraven the Hunter starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and a third installment of Tom Hardy’s Venom franchise. Additionally, the development of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man 4 is currently on pause due to the WGA strike.
