Puerto-Rican rapper Bad Bunny, 28, has been cast in ‘El Muerto’.
The Grammy Award-winning musician – whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio – has been cast as Marvel’s newest superhero in the upcoming Sony Pictures blockbuster.
The news was revealed by Sony Motion Pictures Group president Sanford Panitch at CinemaCon in Las Vegas. As reported by Variety, he told the crowd: “To bring El Muerto to life is just incredible… so exciting.”
The movie is set to hit cinemas on January 12, 2024, and it will mark the first live-action Marvel film headlined by a Latino actor.
In the comics, El Muerto – known as Juan-Carlos Estrada Sanchez – is a wrestler with powers handed down by ancestry via his mask.
Marvel’s official website says: “The powers and mask of the super powered wrestler El Muerto have been passed down generation to generation. Each wrestler had to prove themselves to their oppressor, El Dorado, so that they could remain alive and keep their powers. When Marcus Estrada presented his son Juan Carlos to el Dorado, Juan Carlos cowered in terror, unwilling to fight him.”
Also in the comics, El Muerto has battled Spider-Man himself in the ring, and he even attempted to unmask Peter Parker’s alter ego during a match booked by J. Jonah Jameson.
It’s been suggested Bad Bunny’s version of the character will be an antihero “on the verge” of inheriting his dad’s powers.
The musician is no stranger to the world of wrestling, having grown up a huge fan – and he’s made a number of appearances for WWE.
He made his in-ring debut at ‘WrestleMania 37’ last year, where he teamed with Damian Priest to defeat The Miz and John Morrison. He then returned as a surprise entrance in the 2022 Men’s Royal Rumble.
