Bad Bunny has seemingly confirmed that he will no longer be starring in Spider-Man spinoff El Muerto, but that doesn’t mean the movie is dead quite yet.
The rapper and occasional wrestler made headlines with a lengthy profile that was published in Vanity Fair yesterday, in which he was asked about the long-troubled Sony film. It’s been in Hollywood limbo for some time now, with Sony making the discouraging move of pulling it from its previously announced Jan. 12, 2024 release date, with no new date announced.
When asked about the film in the Vanity Fair profile, Bad Bunny (aka Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio) replied, “I don’t know what to say.” He called the issue “delicate” before his publicist interjected, “obviously, it’s out.”
While that may be troubling news for the film, a source close to the production tells IGN that, although there are no other updates amid the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, El Muerto remains in development. It’s currently unclear how the production team will handle re-casting its lead, but no real movement can be made while Hollywood’s actors remain on the picket lines, so we wouldn’t expect news anytime soon.
When El Muerto was originally pulled from Sony’s release schedule in June, various reports cited a few different reasons. One was that the script needed additional work, which can’t take place during the ongoing writers’ strike. Another was issues around Martínez’s touring schedule, raising questions even then of whether or not he would be able to still be attached to star.
As far as we know, Jonás Cuaron is still in the director’s chair, with Blue Beetle writer Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer having penned the script.
In the comics, El Muerto is the son of a luchador, imbued with superhuman strength and endurance after he inherits a mystical wrestling mask. With El Muerto off the release schedule, the next Sony Spider-Man film should be Madame Web, which is currently dated for Feb. 16, 2024.
Thumbnail credit: Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
