‘Werewolf by Night’ producer defends the omission of an MCU staple

In terms of slating our thirst for some old-school horror thrills within the MCU framework, Werewolf by Night did not disappoint, serving up a delightful throwback to classic monster movies when it landed on Disney Plus last Friday. But it has to be said that Marvel’s first TV special — officially billed as a Special Presentation — left us wanting in another way. Specifically, it sadly broke with franchise tradition and ended without the customary post-credits scene.

While speaking to The Direct about Jack Russell’s first outing in the Marvel screen universe, though, executive producer Brian Gay has attempted to defend the lack of that most cherished of MCU staples. Gay explained that the production team viewed the special’s final scene, which sees Gael Garcia Bernal’s titular lycanthrope and his buddy Ted (better known to comic book readers as Man-Thing), as the equivalent of a tag and so felt any additional material was superfluous. Here’s what he had to say:

“[That final campfire scene is] in the [same] Spirit [as a normal post-credits scene]. We wanted to put, you know, a nice, I guess, button on the end of the special in a way to have it. But with this, we want it to be a contained story. And so anytime that there’s, you know, a tag, it’s always what’s next, what’s going on for these characters. [The Werewolf and Man-Thing] don’t know what’s happening next. They barely made it through this night alive. And so it always felt a little weird that we would return back to something when oh my gosh, you made it out. Just celebrate that moment as opposed to carry on.”

Gay’s comments echo what director Michael Giacchino has previously said on the matter, arguing that the story was complete by the end of the special so there was simply no need to stick something in the middle of the credits. Obviously, fans waiting on a glimpse at Mahershala Ali’s Blade in the flesh or a cameo from Oscar Isaac’s Moon Knight or perhaps a hint that the Midnight Sons are about to come together would disagree, however.

Still, with a key multiversal player like Man-Thing making his debut, plus easter eggs linking to the likes of Thor: Love and Thunder, Werewolf by Night still didn’t skimp on the connections to the wider franchise. To revisit the spooktacular special, catch it on Disney Plus.