Werewolf by Night BTS Photos Reveal Epic Monster Makeup

In the year 2022, it’s a pretty safe bet to say most blockbusters are packed to the brim with computer-generated imagery, given the spectacles Hollywood studios are continuously chasing after. That’s why it’s particularly notable the filmmakers behind Werewolf by Night—a Halloween special focusing on monsters—wanted to keep things as practical as possible. As it turns out, anything from the werewolf’s suit to Man-Thing to the hunted monsters hanging from the walls were all crafted practically.

Made by the artists at KNB EFX Group, a new round of pictures has surfaced online showing off everything that was made practically before being touched up with CGI. Shared to Reddit, the batch of snapshots even includes a few extra glances at the life-sized animatronic used for Man-Thing.

Wait, so Man-Thing was practically built?!

Absolutely! Spared no expense for the character’s debut within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, hiring KNB to craft an animated version of the beloved swamp monster with glowing red eyes and all.

“When it started out, I was like, ‘Werewolf’s gotta be practical, let’s build a Man-Thing. Let’s see how far we can get with that? The folks with K&B craft studio, they did the most incredible job,” Werewolf helmer Michael Giacchino previously told ComicBook.com. “They built a life-size Man-Thing. It was completely animatronic and its eyes glowed red. It was crazy and the hands were all motorized. So, yeah it was great. Now, it was mostly on-set so there would be something for the actors to work with.”

Why are practical effects preferred over visual effects?

In that same conversation, Giacchino went on to explain his insistent on a practical Man-Thing, saying it’d help actors perform better on set.

The director added, “I didn’t want there to be a guy with a tennis ball on the end of a stick saying, ‘Here’s the monster, look at this right here.’ I didn’t want that, I really wanted them to really engage with the character. Because I knew how big that character of Man-Thing was going to be. So, they could relate to him and be with him in the same space. So, we built all of that and our wonderful visual effects staff went over that with their incredible effects and brought it to life in a whole way.”

How to watch Werewolf by Night

Since Werewolf by Night didn’t receive a theatrical release, the “Special Presentation,” as Marvel Studios calls it, was lumped in with the rest of the television shows the outfit produced for Disney+. As such, Werewolf by Night is available to watch exclusively on Disney+ and nowhere else.