Last year, it was announced that rapper Bad Bunny had been tapped to star in El Muerto, one of the movies in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, The decision to give this character his own spinoff was peculiar considering he’d literally only appeared twice in the comics, but it does provide another opportunity for Bad Bunny to show off his acting chops following his performance in Bullet Train. Now some more specific details about El Muerto have finally come to light, but it comes in the midst of some bad news.
Let’s start off on a more positive note first. According to THR, until recently, Sony Pictures was looking over actors to star opposite Bad Bunny in El Muerto. Professional wrester Sasha Banks, whom Star Wars fans know for playing Koska Reeves in The Mandalorian Seasons 2 and 3, was being circled for a role, while Marvin Jones III, a.k.a. Krondon, who starred as Tobias Whale for all four seasons of Black Lightning, would play Tombstone. The latter is particularly notable since Krondon previously voiced Tombstone in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
So now we at least have a little more context for what to expect from El Muerto; while the character Banks is being lined up to play hasn’t been identified, apparently our title protagonist, who’s the son of a luchador, would find himself clashing with Tombstone, a crime boss who’s been a Spider-Man foe since the late 1980s. However, these deals were only revealed as a result of THR sharing the official announcement that El Muerto was taken out of its previously-announced January 12, 2024 release slot, and is now undated.
Per the publication’s sources, El Muerto hadn’t begun shooting yet, so right off the bat, making that release date would have either been a rush job or just impossible. More importantly, the script needed “additional work,” but because the writers strike is ongoing, there’s no way to accomplish that goal. Additionally, Bad Bunny’s touring schedule further complicated production plans, so now the project’s currently rests in limbo, with the article specifically mentioning “it’s not clear how long Bad Bunny can remain attached.”
So now we simply have to wait and see what the future holds in store for El Muerto, be it good news and bad news. That said, Sony’s Spider-Man Universe has plenty of other projects coming up to expand this corner of the superhero media market. The first Kraven the Hunter trailer premiered earlier this week ahead of the movie’s October release, Madame Web is still on track to come out next February, and Venom 3 is expected for October 2024, with Ted Lasso’s Juno Temple being added to the cast.
As soon as the situation regarding El Muerto is straightened out, or if any addition information about the premise is revealed, we’ll let you know. If you’re interested in seeing how Bad Bunny fared in the action-packed Bullet Train, that can be streamed with a Netflix subscription.
