I don’t usually cover the many TV movies and specials available on the streaming services because it is hard enough to just keep up with the TV shows these days. (Note that if you would be interested in writing about either, contact us at scifitvsite@gmail.com.) But Disney+ has put out a few recent specials that are worth noting and I am hoping that streamer continues to release more like these going forward. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special just started streaming last week, and in October Werewolf by Night had its release, and both give us a nice extension of the Marvel Universe without all the pomp and circumstance of a blockbuster movie.
The former was filmed concurrently with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (which is set to hit theaters in May 2023) and takes place around the events of that film. It has a rather silly premise in which Dax and Mantis decide to bring a particular person to Peter Quill as a Christmas present because they believe the holiday was spoiled for him by Yondu years ago. But the far-fetched nature of their plan works perfectly as a plot gimmick as this 45-minute tale seems to be having a ton of fun acting as a send-up of the many holiday specials that have hit the small screen and it brings plenty of mayhem along with it as well, GoG-style.
The special has the full Guardians crew on tap, but Dax and Mantis get the majority of the screen time. And this is exactly what a production like this should do. The films can only give so much attention to the many characters, especially GoG which has a pretty full cast. These one-shot specials allow focus on characters that may not have been as prominent in the films and/or that fans just want to see more of. And by filming this at the same time as the third film, they do that while keeping the production costs down.
The MCU dabbled with this previously with the direct-to-DVD Marvel One-Shot: Agent Carter back when Captain America first came out. And now with the Disney+ streaming service cranking out originals, there are plenty of opportunities to produce more one-off specials. These can either act as extensions to the movies, tryouts for more obscure characters, or both.
And on the tryout front, there is Werewolf by Night. That 55-minute movie draws from the ’70s comic of the same name while also including several other Marvel horror/monster characters in what is essentially a Halloween special. It focuses on a group of monster hunters who gather at Bloodstone Manor following the death of Ulysses Bloodstone to compete to determine who will be their new leader and who will possess the powerful relic of his name. Jack Russell is among those who arrive, but he must hide the truth of his werewolf alter ego and he has a slightly different reason for being there.
While this special draws from the comics, it also hearkens back to the monster movies of old with its (mostly) black and white color tones and its basic look and feel. It also delivers on the violence and gore and should definitely delight horror fans. The film is self-contained but also probably intended as a teaser for characters who continue on in more specials or possibly a series. It did not make it into the Nielsen Streaming Top 10 after its release, so whether we will see more of Werewolf by Night is uncertain. But it did garner some good scores from critics and viewers (90% Fresh Rating and 90% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes), so hopefully Disney+ will do more in the same vein.
And we can only hope that more one-shots in general will be on the way from the streamer. This is a great way to expand on the MCU and also provide some character and world building without having to produce a mega-budget blockbuster. These two films both gave us a nice look at other parts of the MCU and provide a good template for how to proceed with one-shots in the future.
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