When Sony Pictures announced plans for an El Muerto movie during its 2022 CinemaCon presentation, the vast majority of fans were left scratching their heads. For starters, he's an incredibly obscure character and way down the list of Spider-Man-adjacent heroes and villains comic book readers are hoping to see on screen.
It's widely believed Sony gave popular rapper and aspiring actor Bad Bunny his pick of characters from their Spider-Man Universe and he decided to take a crack at bringing El Muerto to life. Given his love of pro wrestling, that's not overly surprising, especially when we've seen him impress in a WWE ring on a number of occasions.
During his time in the squared circle, he's clashed with everyone from The Miz to The Judgement Day and has even captured championship gold when he briefly held the short-lived 24/7 title.
Going back to El Muerto, a few months ago, it was confirmed the movie had lost its January 12, 2024 release date. The news didn't come as a huge surprise as there hadn't been any movement on the project for some time.
Now, though, it seems we can definitively say the movie has been scrapped.
In a Vanity Fair profile (via ComicBookMovie.com), Bad Bunny - who is joined by his publicist, Sujeylee Solá - was asked what happened to El Muerto. Widely thought to be his dream role, you'd think he'd have plenty to say. Not so.
"He hesitates. An awkward silence ripples across the table," the site's piece reads. "'Next question,' asserts Solá, who’s seated at an adjacent booth. 'I don’t know what to say,' Martínez replies, calling the issue 'delicate.' Solá sharpens the point. 'Obviously, it’s out,' she says of the film."
Moving forward, it sounds like the Bullet Train actor plans to move away from action-packed blockbusters. "As a movie consumer myself, I’m not one to watch a lot of action movies. I’d even say it’s my least favorite genre," Bad Bunny admits. "I would really like to play other kinds of things, like a little bit more drama, romance too, or comedy...[maybe] a history movie with a little action in it."
While the El Muerto character briefly tussled with Spider-Man in the squared circle, his main foe was El Dorado, a supernatural being who is responsible for granting his family these supernatural abilities. Tombstone was expected to be this movie's big bad, however.
Jonás Cuarón had been tapped to direct the movie based on a screenplay by Garreth Dunnet-Alcocer. Sony has yet to confirm they will no longer move forward with the project, though it's hard to imagine them wanting to now that Bad Bunny is no longer attached.
You can keep up with the latest superhero news over at ComicBookMovie.com!