SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE Was Originally Envisioned as an Endgame-Style Movie
I don’t know about you, but I’m super pumped for Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse, I loved the first movie and it looks like this sequel is going to be absolutely insane! In fact, the lead animator of the film, Ere Santo recently said that the scope is “insanely ambitious.” When talking about the size and scope of the film, Santos told The Direct:
"[We were asking] 'Wait, so this is what a two-and-a-half-hour movie? This is a really large story that they're telling. And with all the arcs that they wanted to put in, we were just thinking this was going to be an intense, quick, fast-paced, high-energy movie."
Santos went on to claim that they were actually planning "Endgame-esque stuff” for the follow-up, but when they decided to split it into two sequels, it "[gave] it that breathing room we all felt that it really needed to kind of go, 'Okay, what do we need to set up in the second movie? And how can we resolve it in the third movie?"
I’m glad that they broke this story up into two films! It will strengthen the epic story that they are looking to tell. A story that will include 240 characters, and take place over six different universes… yeah, they will need the extra time.
The film follows Miles Morales as Brooklyn’s friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, “plunged into the multiverse where he joins forces with Gwen Stacy and a new team of Spider-folks to face off with a villain more powerful than anything they have ever encountered.”
After reuniting with Gwen Stacy, “Brooklyn’s full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is catapulted across the Multiverse, where he encounters a team of Spider-People charged with protecting its very existence. But when the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles finds himself pitted against the other Spiders and must redefine what it means to be a hero so he can save the people he loves most.”
The cast includes Shameik Moore as Miles; Oscar Isaac as Miguel O’Hara, aka Spider-Man 2099; Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen, Brian Tyree Henry as Miles’ dad Jefferson Davis; Luna Lauren Velez as Miles’ mom Rio Morales; Issa Rae as Jessica Drew, aka Spider-Woman; Jorma Taccone as Vulture; Rachel Dratch; Shea Whigham; Greta Lee;Jason Schwartzman as Spot; and Daniel Kaluuya as Hobart “Hobie” Brown, a.k.a. Spider-Punk.
The movie is being directed and produced by Justin K. Thompson, Joaquim Dos Santos, and Kemp Powers. Avi Arad, Amy Pascal, Phil Lord, Chris Miller and Christina Steinberg are also producing. Lord and Miller will also be credited as writers on the film, along with David Callaham.
The movie is set to be released on June 2nd, 2023! The third installment, Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse, is already dated for March 29th, 2024.