Marvel adds The Nevers’ Laura Donnelly to its Halloween Special

By Blair Marnell January 11, 2022

Over the last decade, Marvel’s superheroes have become an even bigger cultural phenomenon than they were before the studio began making movies. But later this year, things will get spooky as Marvel Studios’ Halloween Special on Disney+ explores the horrifying side of the MCU. While details about the Halloween Special have been scarce, Deadline is reporting that The Nevers‘ leading lady, Laura Donnelly, has been cast to play a major role.

Marvel has yet to publicly announce this project, and the studio was characteristically silent about whom Donnelly will portray. That said, there are many possible horror heroines who could fit the bill. During Marvel’s ’70s horror comics craze, Lilith, Satana, and Jennifer Kale were introduced as supporting characters. However, Deadline speculates that Donnelly will play Nina Price, Marvel’s Vampire by Night. Despite the implications of that title, Nina is not a true vampire. Instead, she is a vampire/werewolf hybrid whose otherworldly nature only emerges after sunset.

Laura Donnelly in The Nevers.

Besides Donnelly, the only confirmed actor for the Marvel Studios Halloween Special is Gael Garcia Bernal. He is expected to play Jack Russell, a man cursed by his family’s legacy to become a werewolf. Jack was also the star of Marvel’s Werewolf by Night comic book, and the uncle of Nina Price.

One of the most significant aspects of the Werewolf by Night comic is that it introduced Marc Spector, a.k.a. Moon Knight. Oscar Isaac is headlining the Moon Knight series on Disney+, which will debut later this year. It’s possible that Moon Knight could feature the first MCU appearance of Bernal, but so far, that’s simply speculation.

Regardless, the MCU’s push into the realm of the supernatural has already begun. The post-credits scene of Eternals featured a vocal cameo by Mahershala Ali as Blade. That scene also featured Kit Harington’s Dane Whitman, moments before he embraced his destiny as the Black Knight. Presumably, that scene will be revisited in the upcoming Blade reboot film, which is expected to begin filming later this year.

Marvel Studios’ Halloween Special is expected to debut in October. However, a start date for filming has not yet been announced.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Blair Marnell has been an entertainment journalist for over 15 years. His bylines have appeared in Wizard Magazine, Geek…

Entertainment

Marvel casts Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Wonder Man for Disney+

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II in Candyman.

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II will reprise his role as DC Comics' villainous Black Manta in next year's Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. However, Abdul-Mateen is going to get a chance to portray a superhero of his own in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well. Deadline is reporting that Abdul-Mateen has been cast as Simon Williams, aka Wonder Man, for his own upcoming Disney+ series.

Don't let the name fool you. Marvel's Wonder Man has nothing to do with DC's Wonder Woman. Instead, Stan Lee and artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby created Simon Williams as a one-off Avengers villain in 1964. Within his debut story, Simon was a disgraced executive who was given superpowers by the Masters of Evil in return for infiltrating the Avengers and betraying them. Regardless, Simon ultimately sided with the Avengers and turned against the Masters even though it cost him his life.

Entertainment

Werewolf by Night: All the Marvel Easter eggs in the Disney+ show

Gael Garcia Bernal stares upwards in a scene from Werewolf By Night.

Marvel Studios' scary-good television special Werewolf by Night has finally premiered on Disney+, giving audiences a frightening and fresh addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In less than an hour, the filmmakers pay homage to many classic horror movies and reference comic book lore with a bevy of Easter eggs. Now that this film is out, here's a list of the Easter eggs found in Werewolf by Night.
Vampires exist in the MCU

As a family of monster hunters, the Bloodstones have come across various creatures throughout the ages. This history is displayed in the film's opening sequence, which features a drawing of what looks like a vampire. There also appears to be a vampire's head on display along with the other mounted monster heads in the main hall of Bloodstone Manor.

Entertainment

Jennifer Walters enters the MCU in this first look for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law

She-Hulk smiling widely in She-Hulk.

Out of the original lineup of Marvel Studios movies, the one film that never got a sequel was The Incredible Hulk. That's because the solo Hulk movie rights are still tied up with Universal, while Marvel had the rights to use Bruce Banner's alter ego as a supporting character in other MCU films. Fortunately, that deal did not extend to television, which is why She-Hulk: Attorney at Law will finally get to expand the MCU's Hulk mythos for the first time since 2008. But make no mistake: She-Hulk is much more than just a female Hulk.

Tatiana Maslany stars in the series as Jennifer Walters, the cousin of Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) and the closest thing that he has to a sister. When the series begins, Jennifer is a successful Deputy District Attorney and blissfully free of any superhuman abilities. But in the preview clip below, we get to see where Jennifer's life went off track as she and Bruce find themselves facing an unexpected threat.