Earlier this week, Sony dropped its first trailer for its next “Spider-Man” spinoff, “Kraven The Hunter,” which hits theaters this October. That film was supposed to be the first of three Spidey spinoffs in the next year, the other two being “El Muerto” and “Madame Web,” both set for early 2024 releases. But thanks to the WGA writers’ strike, and a busy touring schedule for leading man Bad Bunny, Sony has nixed “El Muerto” from its release calendar.
But “El Muerto” is not nixed entirely. Sony still has the pic in development, but it’s unclear when it’ll move beyond that stage again. Bad Bunny, the stage name for Puerto-Rican rapper Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, will star in the film as Juan Carlos Estrada Sánchez, a wrestling superhero who derives his powers from a special luchador mask. The upcoming movie follows El Muerto as he battles against the wrestling god El Dorado to avenge his father’s death. Sánchez also tangles with Spider-Man before teaming up with him to take down El Dorado. Jonás Cuarón is still attached to direct “El Muerto.”
“El Muerto” has been in the Spider-Verse pipeline for awhile, with Bad Bunny talking about the film at Sony’s CinemaCon panel last year. “I grew up watching it, and now I’m a wrestler,” said the rapper. “This is why I love this character. I thin kit’s the perfect role me. It will be epic.” On top of winning Grammys for his music, Bad Bunny’s comments also reference his involvement in several wrestling matches for the WWE. He’s also acted a handful of time, most recently in last year’s action pic “Bullet Train” as an assassin looking to take down Brad Pitt. Other acting credits for Bad Bunny include “Narcos: Mexico.”
So when will “El Muerto” return to Sony’s release calendar? As the WGA writers’ strike continues, it’s safe to assume that even more previously announced titles will drop from studio calendars. But last week, Sony penciled two Marvel-related titles into its future release schedule for November 8, 2024 and June 27, 2025, respectively. It’s all speculation, but many assume the November 2024 release date may be for the upcoming “Venom 3” and the June 2025 one for “Spider-Man 4” with Tom Holland. With two Marvel projects on the calendar and “El Muerto” sliding off, maybe Sony isn’t as confident in this project as they once were. Or perhaps Bad Bunny’s touring is too busy for the studio to move ahead, and this one will move out of development hell next year.
The future of “El Muerto” may also depend on how “Kraven The Hunter” and “Madame Web” do in theaters. The former arrives on October 6, while the latter releases on February 16, 2024.