Everything deserves to get a physical media release. What would have been stating the obvious in 2004 has become a rallying cry in the mid-2020s. In the modern pop culture landscape, major studios are cutting corners at every turn, including with severely limiting what titles get physical media releases. Streaming exclusives, in particular, rarely, if ever, get physical media releases. Good luck finding streaming movies like Da 5 Bloods or Togo on DVDs or Blu-rays, for example.
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A handful of Marvel Cinematic Universe Disney+ programs like WandaVision and the first Loki season have broken this trend with home video releases. Sadly, though, the vast majority of MCU productions on this streamer have been deprived of physical media launches. If any Disney+ Marvel project should get a proper home video release, though, it’s one terrifyingly good fan-favorite special.
Werewolf By Night Desperately Needs To Come To Home Video
Released in October 2022, director Michael Giacchino’s Werewolf by Night TV special is one of the most acclaimed MCU properties released after 2019. Both MCU devotees and newcomers alike praised the special for featuring a unique visual aesthetic, wondrously ooky practical effects work, and charming characters like Man-Thing. That acclaim alone should warrant it a physical media release. There’s clearly demand for all things Werewolf by Night. Put out a DVD or Blu-Ray release that would let people reaffirm their affection for this endeavor.
Best of all, it wouldn’t just be one 53-minute special Disney could unleash on a home video release. Werewolf by Night has a slew of connected properties that could accompany it on its physical media launch. There’s the colorized version of the special, Werewolf by Night in Color, that hit streaming in September 2023. Meanwhile, the Director by Night documentary, about Giacchino’s life and creative ambitions, would also be a mighty welcome feature on a Werewolf by Night Blu-Ray release. There could even be a newly created featurette consisting of previously recorded footage and interviews from Werewolf by Night’s 35mm screening in Los Angeles in October 2022.
Though the original Werewolf by Night didn’t even last one hour in its runtime, there’s already so much extra media connected to it that a Blu-Ray release could be jam-packed. Plus, this could ensure the streaming exclusive project Director by Night also gets a physical media release. This surprisingly thoughtful production deserves to be seen in a greater capacity than being buried on the Disney+ platform. Speaking of which, that brings up another crucial reason why Werewolf by Night should get a Blu-Ray release.
Werewolf by Night Should Be Accessed By All
Currently, Werewolf by Night is only available to those paying subscription fees to Disney+. That’s a crying shame, as it’s prevented the title from really taking off as a spooky Halloween treat. Once on physical media, though, a greater array of folks could be exposed to the project. Not only could they purchase it, but people could also rent it from their local libraries. Suddenly, the name Werewolf by Night would be familiar to all, rather than just MCU geeks with Disney+ subscriptions.
That’s one of the many joys of physical media, including how it gives consumers ownership over the media they like. Even in the mid-2020s, many people have neither the finances or the technology to access Werewolf by Night. Keeping these properties exclusively tethered behind streaming paywalls ensures only a limited number of people can discover gems like Werewolf by Night. Physical media releases can help rectify that problem. Plus, it’s doubtful a Werewolf by Night Blu-Ray debut years after its Disney+ debut would really dent subscriber numbers for the streamer.
After all, Werewolf by Night is just one of many major titles on the platform, hence why it sometimes get lost against bigger Disney+/Hulu properties like Bluey or Family Guy. Putting it on physical media wouldn’t hurt Disney+, but it could give Werewolf by Night a new lease of life and allow untold numbers of people to discover its glorious virtues. Granted, this seems like a major pipe dream given how few streaming properties in general, let alone Disney+ Marvel projects, get physical media releases. Still, hope springs eternal, and that includes holding out hope for Werewolf by Night getting the extraordinary physical media release it deserves.
Werewolf by Night is now streaming on Disney+.
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