Summary
- El Muerto movie may have been canceled, as the lead actor, Bad Bunny, indicated uncertainty about what to say regarding its status, and the film was removed from Sony's release slate.
- Sony initially confirmed El Muerto in April 2022 with a release date of January 12, 2024, and Bad Bunny was instrumental in getting the movie greenlit.
- Although there is no trailer for El Muerto and recent updates suggest it may never be released, there is still a chance it could come to fruition in the future.
✕ Remove Ads
With Sony announcing that El Muerto will be part of the Sony Spider-Man Universe (SSU), details about its release date and cast have been revealed. The SSU started in 2018 with the blockbuster hit Venom, which was a phenomenal success despite many criticisms and made $856 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo). Although Sony released Venom: Let the Be Carnage and Morbius shortly after - and they received lukewarm receptions in comparison - the studio is clearly committed to building a cinematic universe of Spider-Man villains, especially since there's a large list of upcoming superhero movies currently in development, including some unique SSU villain solo films.
✕ Remove Ads
While Juan-Carlos Sanchez, a.k.a. El Muerto, is one of the most obscure villains, he has a fascinating story. The character is a wrestler and the son of a luchador, who inherits superpowers after wearing his family's ancestral mask. However, unlike Morbius and Venom, El Muerto was something of a partner to the web-slinger, even if the two only spent a brief amount of time together. It was the self-proclaimed "wrestling god" El Dorado who was enemies with El Muerto, and the movie adaptation of Estrada's story has huge potential - though recent updates suggest that, at best, it will be a long time before the story comes to the big screen.
Related
12 Spider-Man Villains In Sony's Marvel Universe
Sony's Spider-Man Universe currently has three Marvel movies released with a fourth in the works, and these are all of the villains who exist in it.
✕ Remove Ads
El Muerto Latest News

Sadly, the most recent news for the El Muerto movie is that it appears to have been canceled. El Muerto's seeming cancelation was revealed in September 2023, when Bad Bunny - who was to be the movie's lead - responded to Vanity Fair's questions about the film and its status by stating that he didn't he didn't "know what to say,” with his publicist following this up by saying "Obviously, it’s out.” This, combined with El Muerto being removed from Sony's release slate, suggests the movie may never come to fruition - although there's still a chance it is merely undergoing some colossal renovations instead.
✕ Remove Ads
When El Muerto Was Confirmed

While things aren't looking good for the movie currently, it was a different story when Sony confirmed El Muerto back in April 2022. The movie was announced at Sony's Cinemacon panel, as well as the confirmation that rapper Bad Bunny would star in the lead role, with the celebrity being instrumental in getting El Muerto greenlit. According to Deadline, El Muerto's development was fast-tracked following Bad Bunny's urge to become a superhero movie character, along with the fact that studio executives had a positive response to the singer's performance as The Wolf in Bullet Train.
✕ Remove Ads
El Muerto Release Date

El Muerto had a confirmed release date of January 12, 2024, before this was removed from the Sony release slate with the film's seeming cancelation. This came after a long radio silence regarding updates on the movie, as where there were countless on-set shots revealed from Madame Web's principal photography - and comments from the cast - there wasn't any such thing for El Muerto. This slow production pace supports the idea the movie has been canceled, as it didn't seem to be far into production.
Related
Morbius Is Everything Wrong With Sony's Spider-Man Universe
Morbius has a lot of problems, but at it's worst, the movie represents and further advances everything that is wrong with Sony's Spider-Man Universe.
✕ Remove Ads
El Muerto Cast

Given that there are some major characters involved in the El Muerto storyline, such as J. Jonah Jameson and Spider-Man, it seemed likely some important casting calls were being made behind the scenes at Sony. However, no casting was revealed whatsoever for the film outside of confirmation that Bad Bunny will play El Muerto - which also was seemingly revoked down the line, based on the comments from Bad Bunny and his publicist.
El Muerto Story Details

✕ Remove Ads
No story details for El Muerto were available before its seeming cancellation, but audiences did have some theories based on the comic storylines revolving around the character. This was largely because the character is one of the most obscure Spider-Man anti-heroes and has only had two major appearances, making one plot most likely. The storyline is similar to other superhero narratives, as Sanchez's father, who was also a famous luchador, was murdered by El Dorado when Sanchez was just ten years old. Following his father's death, Sanchez trains for a full decade, becomes El Muerto, and avenges his father's murder. More interestingly, Sanchez saved J. Jonah Jameson's life, and in return, Jameson hosted a charity wrestling match between El Muerto and Spider-Man.
✕ Remove Ads
El Muerto Trailer Info

As yet, there is no El Muerto trailer. The current updates for El Muerto suggest there may indeed never be a trailer for the film, as it appears to be at worst canceled, and at best in development hell. However, the superhero genre is full of surprises, and thus it's not entirely impossible for El Muerto to release one day, even if a trailer is unlikely to appear any time soon.
Key Release Dates
- Madame WebRelease Date:2024-02-14
- Venom 3Release Date:2024-11-08
- Kraven the HunterRelease Date:2024-08-30