El Muerto: The Real Reason Bad Bunny Left Sony's Marvel Movie

Sony's "El Muerto" adaptation was once on track to star superstar rapper, singer, and wrestler Bad Bunny (Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio), with the fan-favorite entertainer jumping into the Marvel Universe in one of the unlikeliest ways imaginable. However, he eventually left the project when production stalled — and now more details are emerging about what happened.

Even to seasoned comic book readers, El Muerto, created by Peter David and Roger Cruz, is a largely unknown character. The villain, a luchador who gains super strength and durability by wearing a mystical mask, only made two appearances in Marvel stories in 2006's "Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man." Still, having a star as big as Bad Bunny attached, who has experience acting in films like "Bullet Train" and wrestling with the WWE, made the project seem like a perfect vehicle for him. Bad Bunny told CinemaCon (via Entertainment Tonight) in 2022 that "El Muerto" was the ideal role for him. "It's incredible. I love wrestling. I grew up watching it, and now I'm a wrestler. That's why I love this character. I think it's the perfect role [for] me. It will be epic," the star said.

In a piece examining Sony's stand-alone approach to building their own Marvel Universe with films like "Madame Web," "Kraven the Hunter," and the "Venom" trilogy, Variety reported that Bad Bunny's reasoning for leaving the "El Muerto" movie dealt with other commitments. "But his conflicting tour and script revisions now have the project back in development — without a star on the books," the outlet reported.

Despite losing Bad Bunny in the lead role of "El Muerto," the movie still appears to be happening. The film is now back in development, according to the Variety article. It remains to be seen whether its previous director, Jonás Cuarón, the son of Academy Award winner Alfonso Cuarón, is still attached. However, there haven't been any reports about him leaving the project — as Sony really hasn't discussed the project much after Bad Bunny's departure.

Considering Sony's strategy of pumping out standalone movies with sub-$100 million budgets, like the upcoming "Madame Web" starring Dakota Johnson in the titular role, the seemingly dire fate of "El Muerto," even without Bad Bunny appearing, appears somewhat exaggerated. "El Muerto" is on the table for Sony, as the production can be relatively affordable compared to other superhero films, lessening the pressure of it needing to be a massive hit at the box office. Still, it will be quite a challenge for the production to replace the former lead star of the film, as Bad Bunny's popularity would have attracted many fans to a comic book property that isn't exactly a household name. His combination of star power, wrestling skills, and physicality would have made him a perfect fit to portray the Marvel character. 

Now, Sony is going back to the drawing board as "El Muerto" gets retooled in development, which the casting search again ongoing to bring El Muerto to life.