It is hard to believe that we are just a little over a month removed from WWE Backlash, the sports entertainment juggernaut’s first major event in Puerto Rico since New Year’s Revolution in 2005. The event’s official main event was Brock Lesnar versus Cody Rhodes but it was a match that took place earlier on the card that, arguably, stole the show: Bad Bunny versus Damian Priest in a San Juan Street Fight.
The international music megastar had been at odds with The Judgment Day for weeks, and the violent culmination between Bunny and Priest included multiple talents getting involved. On Priest’s side were his Judgment Day brethren Finn Balor and Dominik Mysterio while Bunny, on the other hand, brought an army that included the LWO, Savio Vega, and Carlito, who is now rumored to have re-signed for the promotion. Ultimately, Bunny’s forces were able to come together to run off the bad guys in a win that played out in cinematic fashion.
It should come as no surprise that Bunny is looking to take his cinematic qualities beyond live pro wrestling and music events and onto the silver screen. Unfortunately, The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that due to the writers’ strike, Sony has removed Bunny’s Spider-Man spinoff, El Muerto, from their release calendar. Initially, the film was to be released on January 12, 2024, but, as they put it, “the writers’ strike has claimed another victim.”
The announcement that the movie had been pulled from the release schedule came on Wednesday, and it would have been, and could still be, Marvel’s first live-action project to have a starring Latino character. The role that Bunny would be playing is El Muerto, who is described as an antihero who is the son of a luchador, a role he knows well having spent time performing in the ring with the likes of Rey Mysterio.
The report notes that the reason the strike caused the project to be put on pause is that additional work was needed on the script as late as mid-Spring, but the right people to make the changes could not be found. The film has yet to start filming and has not finished its casting, either. However, one interesting pro wrestling name in the mix appears to be Mercedes Varnado, aka Mercedes Mone, and Sasha Banks, who it was noted was being considered for a role but did not provide any further information.
Bunny’s tour scheduling is also partially to blame for the project being delayed, or worse because while writing details were being worked out, his number of dates on the road firmed up. At this time, the future of the project is unclear, as is Bunny’s continued attachment to it.