“Desierto” director Jonás Cuarón has officially signed on to Sony Pictures upcoming film, “El Muerto.” A film adaptation of the Marvel Comics title of the same name, Cuarón will work alongside Grammy Award-winning recording artist Bad Bunny (Benito A Martínez Ocasio). Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer (“Blue Beetle”) is attached to write the script. This will be the first Latino character to lead a Marvel Comics-based film, helping break down yet another barrier to more diversity in comic book movies.
The “El Muerto” comics are about the anti-hero Juan Carlos Estrada Sanchez. Sanchez is the son of a luchador and the next in line to inherit the ancestral power of El Muerto. A power that is contained in the mask of the super-powered luchador wrestler.
This character also appears in a Spider-Man comic where he attempts to unmask the web-slinger during a charity wrestling event thrown by J. Jonah Jameson. Meaning that “El Muerto” will be a part of a series of Sony films based on Marvel’s properties. The goal is to connect several of the Marvel characters that Sony owns the rights to, to the Spider-Man universe.
Other upcoming films involve in this initiative are JC Chandor’s “Kraven the Hunter,” which will star Aaron Taylor Johnson. Which is about Russian immigrant Sergei Kravinoff’s mission to prove he is the greatest hunter in the world. It is currently set to release on October 6th, 2023.
SJ Clarkson’s “Madame Web,” starring Dakota Johnson and Sydney Sweeney, is also a part of this larger initiative. Which is a more direct connection since it centers around a clairvoyant whose psychic abilities let her see into the spider world. This movie adaptation, which is slated for release on February 16th, 2024, will be her origin story.
Sony Pictures currently has “El Muerto” set for a January 12th, 2024 release. But since this project is still in early development Nerdbot will keep you posted on any updates.
