SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE Directors on Choosing the Villain Spot and the Artistic Way He's Brought to Life
Last week, it was revealed that the villain in the upcoming sequel Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is the character Spot, and he is being voiced in the film by Jason Schwartzman (Rushmore). The unique character is an art-inspired villain, and the directors of the sequel recently spoke to Cartoon Brew (via ComicBook) about what Spot brings to the table. Joaquim Dos Santos said that Spot was always the plan, and that he has a stellar way of bringing art to life, adding:
"Pretty early on we knew the Spot was going to be our main villain," Dos Santos explained. "Without an awesome villain, who you sort of can understand with their through-line, you don't really have a strong story for your main character. So he's an awesome sort of opposite to Miles. And his living ink really is just, I think we've all been saying, it's not just an effect. It's artistry come to life. It's something that can only really happen in animation. You can imagine Spot as a dude in a sock suit in a live-action Spider-Man film. It's not going to work. It's just not going to work. So he's art come to life. He's the inkwell spilled on the page. It all goes back to sort of comic books and comic book art."
Kemp Powers, one of the film's other directors, went on to say that a villain like Spot gave Spider-Verse a ton of potential when it comes to story and style, saying:
"From the very beginning he just seemed like endless potential, both visually and arc of the character. Because you know by the way that's not a costume, that's his skin. By the way that he's wearing it you know it's not a guy in a polka dot suit. That's actually his skin. So you know, the arc of Dr. Ohnn Spot is one that does really complement, without giving away the story, it really does complement the the journey of Miles in this film really well."
Are you looking forward to seeing this intriguing new character on the screen? Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse arrives in theaters on June 2nd, 2023.