What is the El Muerto release date? If you’ve not heard of El Muerto, you should. He’s a luchador extraordinaire who’s gone fist-to-fist with Spider-Man in a showcase wrestling match organized by J. Jonah Jameson. Intrigued? Well, you’ll be pleased to know that a movie version of this story is on the way.
That’s right, an El Muerto movie is officially in the works, bringing the super-powered wrestler with increased strength and endurance to life. One of Sony’s numerous planned Spider-Man spin-offs, it’s one of a few new movies looking to expand their corner of the multiverse. It could go very well or very poorly… and there have already been some troubles in development.
Due to the bumps in the road, it may be hard to pinpoint when we can expect an El Muerto release date amid the ever-changing slate of upcoming Marvel movies. But fear not, we’ve gathered the available information on the premiere of the anti-hero — who has some unique qualities among the usual Spider-Man villains.
El Muerto release date speculation
El Muerto’s release date was originally January 12, 2024, but it has since been removed from Sony Pictures’ slate, meaning we won’t get it until much later, potentially in late 2025.
The spin-off has been affected by a few factors, including the 2023 Writers Strike, Actors Strike, and the frantic tour schedule of its previously attached star, Bad Bunny. As it stands, the movie is still in development, but that doesn’t bring us any closer to a confirmed release date.
The January 2024 release slot that was originally set has now been taken by The Book of Clarence, a biblical feature starring LaKeith Stanfield. We also have to take into account the loss of the originally announced star. For those reasons, we think we’ll probably be waiting much longer, as filming hasn’t even started.
The movie is set to be directed by Mexican screenwriter and filmmaker Jonás Cuarón, who previously directed Desierto in 2015 and Chupa in 2023. He’s also reportedly attached to a new Zorro film. If you recognize the last name, he also just happens to be the son of one of the best directors of all time, Alfonso Cuarón.
Who’s in the El Muerto cast?
Bad Bunny, was announced as El Meurto but has since dropped out of the movie, meaning the wrestler anti-hero will have to be recast.
Previously, the rapper appeared in Brad Pitt’s Bullet Train, and he actually has pro wrestling experience in the WWE. In that regard, he was the perfect choice for the titular luchador.
In September 2023, Bad Bunny (real name Benito A. Martínez) spoke to Vanity Fair, who reported that bringing up the project was “awkward”. While the actor didn’t say much, it became clear he’s no longer attached, “I don’t know what to say,” Martínez said, telling VF the issue is “delicate.” Making things clearer, “Obviously, it’s out,” his publicist Sujeylee Solá said (meaning the project is off her client’s docket, not that it has been released).
As for his replacement, a Mexican actor who can perform the physical aspects of the role would be the ideal switcharoo, potentially the likes of Diego Boneta or Ryan Guzman. Although, it seems like Sony wanted to skew on the younger side. The only other cast member we can speculate on is one of the Spider-Man actors, who would perhaps cameo. We imagine supporting characters from the comics will be cast, too.
The expected cast for the El Muerto movie:
- TBA as El Muerto
- TBA as Marcus Estrada de la García
- TBA as El Dorado
- Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man
What is El Muerto about?
El Muerto’s story will focus on a wrestler with superhuman powers that come from his luchador mask.
Before he was El Muerto (translation: The Dead), he was Juan-Carlos Sánchez. He’s been trained by his father, Marcus, since childhood to be the next in line of El Muertos, a collection of masked wrestlers who gain superpowers from their mystical masks. But Juan-Carlos refuses the powers and even declines to fight El Dorado, a god who maintains control of the mask’s powers and grants those their superhuman strength.
In an act of revenge, El Dorado tries to kill him, but he’s stopped by Marcus. Ultimately, El Dorado ends up killing Marcus, which is an act that ends up buying Juan-Carlos ten years to train and defeat a masked hero. Otherwise, El Dorado will come for him again and finish the job.
This is where Spidey comes in. Juan-Carlos (El Muerto at this point), approaches everyone’s favorite media tycoon J. Jonah Jameson to arrange a wrestling match with Spider-Man. Now, this is where things get a little crazy because Spider-Man ends up poisoning the wrestler with a stinger that comes from his wrist, so he winds up in a hospital.
When the ten years are up, El Dorato comes back to claim El Muerto. Essentially, we think the El Muerto movie will all boil down to his early training years, his father’s death, and the guilt and impact it has on him, as well as building up to his big fight with Spider-Man. Basically, we think the El Muerto vs. El Dorato years-long battle will form the basis of this story.
Is there a trailer for El Muerto?
Since the movie is still very much in pre-production, we don’t imagine we’ll be getting a trailer until 2025.
That is, of course, if the movie stays the course and does end up seeing the light of day. If that’s the case, we can probably expect a trailer to drop in the spring of that year ahead of the summer blockbuster season’s best movies.
But this isn’t the first time Spider-Man has ended up in a wrestling match. Check out the below clip from one of the earliest Spider-Man movies, in which Peter takes on the aggressive wrestler known as Bone Saw to see what we might be able to expect from a future fight with El Muerto.
Where can I watch El Muerto?
While no release strategy has been confirmed, since it’s a Sony movie with a Marvel character, we expect El Muerto will hit cinemas exclusively before rolling out digitally.
Why not? All its Spider-Man predecessors have made it into theaters, and with Marvel’s Phase 5 and DC’s Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters set to ignite a new taste for superhero movies, we foresee that this will end up being pushed out big.
After that, expect Sony’s deal with Netflix in certain territories to come into play: it will stream on Netflix first before moving to Disney Plus with the rest of the Spider-Man movies in order.
That’s everything we know about El Muerto so far. If you’re looking forward to it, check out our guides on the Spider-Man: Freshman Year release date, The Amazing Spider-Man 3 release date, and Spider-Man 4 release date. You can also take a look at some of our favorite Marvel villains.
Plus, we’ve ranked every Marvel series and even spoke with Spider-Man himself, Shameik Moore.