Movies & TV / News
Bad Bunny To Star in Sony’s Wrestling-Themed Spider-Man Universe Film El Muerto
Image Credit: Marvel Comics
Bad Bunny is taking his love of wrestling to the big screen — and Sony’s Spider-Man Universe — by starring in the studio’s El Muerto movie. Sonny has announced (per Deadline) that a movie based on the Marvel wrestler is in development with Bunny attached to star. The news was announced at Sony’s Cinemacon panel, which featured a surprise appearance by the rapper, sometime wrestler, and burgeoning actor.
El Muerto is a wrestling gimmick used by Juan-Carlos Sanchez in the Marvel Universe. Created by Peter David and Roger Cruz and first appearing in 2006’s Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #6, Juan-Carlos was trained by his father to carry on the lineage of El Muerto in the family. The El Muerto mask grants mystical power, but after he refused to do the ritual to take on the mask his father was killed by El Dorado. Juan-Carlos earned 10 years to train and then would have to defeat and unmask a masked hero. He faced off with Spider-Man and nearly unmasked him before losing and when El Dorado came to kill him, he and Spider-Man teamed up and defeated El Dorado.
According to the site, Sony’s decision to fast-track the film was due to Bad Bunny’s “persistence” in finding a superhero property that was right for him. Bunny will make his major studio acting debut in Bullet Train on July 29th, which Sony is producing, and Bunny is said to have gotten some of the highest test screening scores among the cast (which includes Brad Pitt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, and Michael Shannon). Bunny is said to have looked deep into the Spider-Man library to find a Latino character who would fit him and settled on El Muerto which the studio loved.
Bunny previously made a splash in the ring during appearances for WWE, which led to a well-received tag team match with Damian Priest against The Miz and John Morrison at WrestleMania 37. He also competed in the 2022 men’s Royal Rumble.
Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group President Sanford Panitch said at the panel that El Muerto will release on January 12th, 2024.
