SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE

 

SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE

 

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a 2023 American computer-animated superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Miles Morales / Spider-Man, produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation in association with Marvel Entertainment, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. The sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), it is set in a shared multiverse of alternate universes called the Spider-Verse. The film is directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson, from a screenplay written by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller (who both also produce) and David Callaham. Shameik Moore voices Miles, starring alongside Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Vélez, Jake Johnson, Jason Schwartzman, Issa Rae, Karan Soni, Daniel Kaluuya, and Oscar Isaac. In the film, Miles goes on an adventure with Gwen Stacy / Spider-Woman across the multiverse where he meets a new team of Spider-People known as the Spider-Society, led by Miguel O' Hara / Spider-Man 2099, but comes into conflict with them over handling a new threat.

 

Sony began developing a sequel to Into the Spider-Verse before its 2018 release, with the writing and directing team attached. It was set to focus on the relationship between Moore's Miles and Steinfeld's Gwen. The sequel was officially announced in November 2019 and animation work began in June 2020, with a different visual style for each of the six universes visited by the characters. With a runtime of 140 minutes, it is the longest animated film ever produced by an American studio.

 

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse premiered at the Regency Village Theatre in Los Angeles, California on May 30, 2023, and was released in the United States on June 2, having been delayed from an original April 2022 date due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Like its predecessor, the film received acclaim from critics. It has earned over $390 million against a production budget of $100 million at the worldwide box office, surpassing its predecessor and becoming the ninth-highest-grossing film of 2023. A third film, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, is scheduled to be released on March 29, 2024, while a female-focused spin-off film, Spider-Woman, is in development.

 

PLOT

On Earth-65, Gwen Stacy is struggling to live up to the expectations of her police captain father, who does not know that she is Spider-Woman. Years prior, Gwen accidentally killed her best friend Peter Parker while he was mindlessly rampaging as the Lizard, and the police have been hunting Spider-Woman ever since, not knowing Gwen's identity. One night in Manhattan, Gwen encounters a version of the Vulture from an Italian Renaissance-themed alternate universe. Spider-People Miguel O'Hara and Jess Drew arrive using portal-generating watches and help Gwen subdue the Vulture. Gwen is confronted by her father and reveals her identity. Distraught, he attempts to arrest her. She escapes through a dimensional portal with the others after Miguel begrudgingly grants her membership in the Spider-Society.

 

In Brooklyn on Earth-1610, sixteen months after the destruction of the Alchemax collider,[a] Miles Morales is adapting to being Spider-Man while missing Gwen and struggling to live up to his parents' expectations. He encounters the Spot, a scientist whose body was infused with portals after the Alchemax collider explosion.[a] Blaming Miles for his dilemma, the Spot brings Miles to Alchemax and reveals the spider that bit Miles came from another universe—Earth-42—when the Spot was testing the collider. He then accidentally transports himself into a void, where he learns to travel to other universes containing the Alchemax collider to use them to empower himself.

 

Gwen travels to Earth-1610 and reconnects with Miles, though she secretly tracks the Spot across dimensions. Miles secretly watches Gwen trace the Spot to Earth-50101 as Jess instructs Gwen to leave Miles behind. After Gwen opens a portal to Mumbattan, India, Miles follows her, and they team up with Spider-Men Pavitr Prabhakar and Hobie Brown against the Spot, who successfully absorbs the power of that world's collider. Miles is struck with a vision of his father dying at the hands of the Spot before the Spot escapes. In the ensuing destruction of the collider, Miles saves Pavitr's girlfriend's father, a police captain, but Mumbattan begins falling apart from the disruption of a "canon event". Members of the Spider-Society arrive to assess the damage of the dimensional anomaly, while Miles, Gwen, and Hobie are sent to their headquarters on Earth-928, where hundreds of Spider-people variants reside in a massive complex. They meet up with Miguel and are joined by Peter B. Parker and his daughter Mayday, as Miguel explains how each Spider-Man's story contains "canon events", such as the death of a police captain close to Spider-Man, and that straying from those events threatens the fabric of the multiverse.

 

Miles realizes the death of his father, who is set to be promoted to police captain in two days, is a canon event. Miguel argues with Miles before imprisoning him, but Hobie helps Miles break loose before using a portal to quit the Spider-Society. Miguel orders all Spider-People to apprehend Miles, resulting in a frenzied chase through the complex and city. Miguel pins Miles down and reveals Miles is the original anomaly, as he was never supposed to become Spider-Man, and that Earth-42 consequently has no Spider-Man. Miles flees and, with the help of Margo Kess, returns to what he believes is his home dimension. Miguel, seeing Gwen as a liability, ejects her from the Spider-Society. Gwen reconciles with her father, who decides to resign as police captain. Realizing his resignation is evidence that canon can be safely averted, Gwen decides to aid Miles, leaving Earth-65 with a bootleg portal watch Hobie left her.

 

As Miles returns to his apartment, he reveals to his mother that he is Spider-Man, whom she does not recognize. After glitching, encountering his deceased uncle Aaron Davis, and learning that his father has already died, Miles realizes that he is on Earth-42. Aaron interrogates Miles and is joined by Earth-42's Miles, who has become the Prowler. Miguel, Jess, and Ben Reilly travel to Earth-1610 in search of Miles just as the Spot arrives and begins his attack. After sending Ben to another dimension and speaking with Miles's parents on Earth-1610, Gwen assembles a Spider-team to find Miles, consisting of Peter B., Mayday, Pavitr, Hobie, Margo, Spider-Man Noir, Peni Parker, and Spider-Ham.

 

VOICE CAST

FURTHER INFORMATION: LIST OF SPIDER-MAN FILMS CAST MEMBERS

Shameik Moore as Miles Morales / Spider-Man:

An intelligent and rebellious teenage graffiti artist of African-American and Puerto-Rican descent who took over as the Spider-Man of Earth-1610 after the death of his reality's Peter Parker.

Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen Stacy / Spider-Woman:

A version of Gwen Stacy who is the drummer of a rock band and the Spider-Woman of Earth-65, where she is a wanted fugitive since accidentally killing her reality's Peter Parker.

Brian Tyree Henry as Jefferson "Jeff" Morales: Miles' African-American father and a police officer who originally disapproved of Spider-Man's vigilante actions but now sees Spider-Man as a hero.

Luna Lauren Vélez as Rio Morales: Miles' Puerto-Rican mother, a nurse. Vélez also plays an alternate version of Morales from Earth-42.

Jake Johnson as Peter B. Parker / Spider-Man:

An older, disheveled, and brunette Earth-616 counterpart to the blond-haired blue-eyed Peter Parker native to Miles' dimension, who was a reluctant mentor to Miles. Parker now has a daughter named Mayday with Mary Jane Watson, whom he reconnected with at the end of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018).

Jason Schwartzman as Dr. Jonathan Ohnn / The Spot:

A former scientist from Alchemax-turned-supervillain after an accident, whose body is now covered by interdimensional portals that allow him to travel through space and different universes. In the film, Jonathan turned to a life of crime because he was ostracized due to his appearance and has no idea how to use his powers and/or be a proper villain. The Spot wasn't originally the film's main villain, but was suggested by producer Avi Arad. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller at first dismissed the idea, but after talking more about his powers, they made him the antagonist.

Issa Rae as Jess Drew / Spider-Woman:

A pregnant African-American Spider-Woman from an alternate universe who is a member of the Spider-Society and rides a motorcycle. Unlike most Spider-People, Drew does not maintain a secret identity.

Karan Soni as Pavitr Prabhakar / Spider-Man India:

An Indian version of Spider-Man from an alternate universe, inhabiting in Mumbattan (a portmanteau of Mumbai and Manhattan) who obtained his powers through magic instead of a spider bite.

Daniel Kaluuya as Hobie Brown / Spider-Punk: A Black British, punk rock version of Spider-Man from an alternate universe that is ruled by a totalitarian regime and who uses his guitar as his main weapon.

Oscar Isaac as Miguel O'Hara / Spider-Man 2099:

A muscular "ninja vampire" Spider-Man of Irish and Mexican descent from an alternate universe set in the year 2099, who is the leader of the Spider-Society, a group of Spider-People from alternate universes tasked with protecting the Multiverse. Isaac described Miguel as "the one Spider-Man that doesn't have a sense of humor", while the production team nicknamed him "Property Damage Spider-Man" due to the amount of destruction that he leaves in his wake.

Greta Lee reprises her role from Into the Spider-Verse as Lyla, Miguel and the Spider Society's AI assistant. Mahershala Ali voices the Earth-42 version of Aaron Davis, a variant of Miles' deceased uncle who never became Prowler; Ali previously voiced the Earth-1610 version of Aaron in Into the Spider-Verse. Shea Whigham voices George Stacy, Gwen's father and a police captain hunting Spider-Woman on Earth-65. Jorma Taccone voices Adriano Tumino / Vulture, an Italian vulture-themed supervillain from a Renaissance-inspired universe, as well as Peter Parker / Spider-Man from the 1967 animated series, the latter of which he reprises from Into the Spider-Verse. Jharrel Jerome voices Miles G. Morales / The Prowler, Miles' Earth-42 variant who has turned to a life of crime with his uncle Aaron.

 

 

An early poster for the film displaying numerous Spider-People appearing in the film. In May 2023, co-director Justin K. Thompson confirmed that the film includes 280 variations of Spider-Man, 95 of them are unique and named characters.

Additional iterations of Spider-Man appearing in the film as members of the Spider-Society, with speaking roles, include: Andy Samberg as Ben Reilly / Scarlet Spider, a genetic clone of Peter Parker from an alternate universe; Amandla Stenberg as Margo Kess / Spider-Byte, a Spider-Woman from a virtual reality; Kimiko Glenn as Peni Parker / SP//dr; Nicolas Cage as Peter Parker / Spider-Man Noir (through archival audio recordings); John Mulaney as Peter Porker / Spider-Ham (through archival audio recordings); Taran Killam as Patrick O'Hara / Web-Slinger and his horse Widow; Nic Novicki as Lego Spider-Man, Josh Keaton as Peter Parker / Spectacular Spider-Man from the television series The Spectacular Spider-Man (2008–2009), also appearing through archival footage of the show's season one episode, "Intervention";[citation needed] Yuri Lowenthal as Peter Parker / Insomniac Spider-Man from the Marvel's Spider-Man video game series by Insomniac Games, also appearing through footage of the game Marvel's Spider-Man 2 (2023); Mike Rianda as Ezekiel Sims / Spider-Therapist (though he was only credited as "Additional voices"); Sofia Barclay as Malala Windsor / Spider-UK, an original incarnation from the comic book versions; Danielle Perez as Charlotte Webber / Sun-Spider; Metro Boomin as Metro Spider-Man, a fictionalized "unique" version of himself as Spider-Man; and Max Borne / Spider-Man 2211.

 

The film also includes non-vocal appearances of Peter Parker / Spider-Man from the television series Spider-Man Unlimited (1999–2001), Peter Parker / Spider-Man from the Marvel Mangaverse, Ultimate Spider-Woman, Cyborg Spider-Woman, Bombastic Bag-Man, Mary Jane Parker / Spinneret and her daughter Anna May-Parker / Spiderling from the 2015 limited series Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows, Maybelle Reilly / Lady-Spider, Spider-Cop, Pter Ptarker / Spider-Rex, Spider-Cat, Spider-Monkey, Spider-Wolf, Peter Parkedcar / Spider-Mobile, Flash Thompson / Captain Spider, Doppelganger, Spider-Armor MK I, MK II, and MK III, Superior Spider-Man, Iron Spider, Stealth / Big Time Spider-Man, Velocity suit Spider-Man from the Marvel's Spider-Man video game series, Electro Proof, Bruce Banner / Spider-Man, Cyclops Spider-Man, Future Foundation Spider-Man, Spidercide, Prince of Arachne, Last Stand Peter Parker, Jessica Drew (classic suit), Julia Carpenter / Spider-Woman, Samurai Spider-Man, Spider-Canada, Anya Corazon / Spider-Girl, Mattie Franklin / Spider-Woman, Ashley Barton / Spider-Kingpin, Earth X Spider-Man, Chibi Spider-Man, and Tarantula of Earth-1610A. Green Goblin from the Spider-Man (1982) video game and Video-Man from the television series Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1981–1983) also appear.

 

Additionally, May "Mayday" Parker also appears as Peter B. Parker and Mary Jane's infant daughter, alongside an alternate adult version operating as Spider-Girl. Melissa Sturm voices Mary Jane "MJ" Parker, Peter B. Parker's wife and Mayday's mother. Pixar animator and filmmaker Peter Sohn provides the voice for Miles' best friend and roommate Ganke Lee, after his dialogue was cut from Into the Spider-Verse. Rachel Dratch voices Ms. Weber, a counselor at Miles's school. Ziggy Marley voices Lenny, a Jamaican shop owner. Atsuko Okatsuka voices Yuri Watanabe, a police colleague of Captain Stacy of Earth-65 Ayo Edebiri, Nicole Delaney, and Antonia Lentini voice Gwen's universe's versions of Glory, MJ, and Betty Brant, who are Gwen's bandmates in The MaryJanes. J. K. Simmons also reprises his role as J. Jonah Jameson, voicing various versions of the character. Jack Quaid voices the Earth-65 Peter Parker who died after transforming into the Lizard and Elizabeth Perkins voices Aunt May of this universe, while Kathryn Hahn as Olivia "Liv" Octavius / Doctor Octopus briefly appears in flashbacks (through archival audio recordings).[citation needed]

 

Live-action roles are also featured in the film, with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield appearing in their respective roles as Peter Parker / Spider-Man from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films and Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man films through archival footage. Donald Glover appears an alternate version of Aaron Davis / Prowler, reprising his role from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017). Peggy Lu reprises her role as convenience store owner Mrs. Chen from the Sony's Spider-Man Universe Venom films, which is identified as Earth-688. Cliff Robertson, Denis Leary and Emma Stone appear through archival footage as Ben Parker, George Stacy and Gwen Stacy from Spider-Man (2002), The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), respectively, with archival audio recordings of Alfred Molina's Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus from Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) being used for an alternate version of his character with a comic book-accurate design.

 

PRODUCTION

DEVELOPMENT

 

CO-WRITERS AND PRODUCERS PHIL LORD AND CHRISTOPHER MILLER

By the end of November 2018, ahead of the release of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) the following month, Sony Pictures Animation had begun developing a sequel due to the "incredible buzz" surrounding the project. The sequel was to continue the story of Shameik Moore's Miles Morales / Spider-Man, working from "seeds [that were] planted" throughout the first film. Joaquim Dos Santos and David Callaham were set to direct and write, respectively, with Amy Pascal returning from the first film as producer. The other producers of the first film—Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Avi Arad, and Christina Steinberg—were all also expected to return in some capacities. The next month, Pascal revealed that the film would focus on Miles and Hailee Steinfeld's Gwen Stacy / Spider-Woman, exploring a romance between the characters that was cut from the first film, and that the sequel would be a "launching pad" for a previously announced female-focused spin-off film starring Steinfeld. Sony officially confirmed the sequel in November 2019, with a release date of April 8, 2022, with Lord and Miller returning as producers. In April 2020, Sony shifted the film's release to October 7, 2022, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

In February 2021, Miller said that he and Lord were working on the film's screenplay with Callaham, and that Peter Ramsey would be an executive producer on the sequel after co-directing the first film. That April, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson were announced as co-directors alongside Dos Santos, and that all three had worked on the project since it began. (Thompson was production designer on the first film.) Arad and Steinberg were confirmed to return as producers with Lord, Miller and Pascal, with Alonzo Ruvalcaba co-producing and Aditya Sood, Into the Spider-Verse directors Bob Persichetti and Rodney Rothman, and Rebecca Karch and Brian Michael Bendis joining Ramsey as executive producers.

 

In December, Lord and Miller revealed that the film was being split into two parts: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One) and (Part Two), because they had written the story they wanted to tell for the sequel and realized it was too much for one film. Work on both parts was taking place simultaneously. The sequels were renamed in April 2022, becoming Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. Their release dates were shifted then, with Across the Spider-Verse pushed back to June 2, 2023. Lord and Miller said that they had told Sony the sequel would be the same size as Into the Spider-Verse, but it ended up having the largest crew of any animated film ever, with around 1,000 people working on it. They added that the film had 240 characters and would take place across six universes.

 

CASTING

 

The voice cast of Across the Spider-Verse (L-R): Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Vélez, Jake Johnson, Jason Schwartzman, Issa Rae, Karan Soni, Daniel Kaluuya, and Oscar Isaac

By December 2018, Shameik Moore and Hailee Steinfeld were set to reprise their respective roles as Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy from the first film. Lord and Miller also expressed interest in including Spider-Punk, Takuya Yamashiro, the "Japanese Spider-Man" from the 1978 Spider-Man series and Italian Spiderman in the following movies. In November 2019 Lord indicated that the character Takuya Yamashiro was designed, though he didn't make an appearance in the movie. In August 2020, Jake Johnson expressed hope that he could reprise his role as Peter B. Parker from the first film in the sequel. Issa Rae was cast as Jess Drew / Spider-Woman in June 2021, Johnson confirmed that he would be returning for the sequel a month later, and Oscar Isaac was confirmed in December to be reprising his role of Miguel O'Hara / Spider-Man 2099 from the post-credits scene of Into the Spider-Verse. Also in December, Tom Holland—who plays Peter Parker / Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe—revealed that Pascal had approached him about appearing in the Spider-Verse films during the filming of Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). Holland and his co-stars Zendaya and Jacob Batalon all expressed interest in appearing in the upcoming films. Jeff Sneider of The Ankler claimed in February 2023 that Holland would appear in a live-action sequence and that his appearance had been the reason the movie was delayed from 2022 to 2023, though it turned out to be false. Christopher Daniel Barnes, who voiced Spider-Man in Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1994–1998), also expressed interest in returning for the film.

 

In April 2022, Brian Tyree Henry and Luna Lauren Vélez were confirmed to be reprising their roles as Miles's parents from the first film while Rachel Dratch was revealed to be voicing the counselor at Miles's school. Lord, Miller, and the directors announced in June that Jonathan Ohnn / the Spot would be the film's main antagonist, with Jason Schwartzman providing the Spot's voice. Powers noted that the Spot was one of "the deepest cuts in Spider-Man's rogue gallery" but the creative team was excited about his abilities, which allow the character to travel between universes. Shea Whigham and Jorma Taccone were also revealed to be voicing George Stacy and the Vulture, respectively. Taccone previously voiced Norman Osborn / Green Goblin and Peter Parker / Spider-Man from the 1967 TV series in Into the Spider-Verse. In November 2022, Daniel Kaluuya was confirmed to be voicing Hobart "Hobie" Brown / Spider-Punk in the film. In December 2022, with the reveal of the film's first poster, it was confirmed that the Peter Parker / Spider-Man from The Spectacular Spider-Man (2008–2009) would appear in the film. Spectacular showrunner Greg Weisman was not informed about the inclusion of his show's character and expressed doubts he would even be featured in the film itself. In January 2023, Nicolas Cage confirmed he would not be reprising his role of Spider-Man Noir for the film. In February 2023, it was revealed that Karan Soni has been cast as Pavitr Prabhakar / Spider-Man India in the film. In April 2023, it was reported that Andy Samberg was playing Ben Reilly / Scarlet Spider. a report confirmed in May 2023, when it was also confirmed that Amandla Stenberg would play Margo Kess / Spider-Byte.

 

ANIMATION AND DESIGN

 

The main universes visited during the film, designed to look like they were each drawn by a different artist

Lord revealed that design work for new characters in the film had begun by November 2019, with comic book artist Kris Anka later revealing that he was serving as a character designer on the film. On June 9, 2020, the film's lead animator Nick Kondo announced that production had started. The different universes visited in the film were designed to look like they were each drawn by a different artist. Having learned new animation tools after working on The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021) following the first Spider-Verse film, Lord and Miller ambitiously employed them to generate six different animation styles. The intent was to amaze the audience whenever the characters cross into a new environment so the film can accurately reflect its plot and the styles can generate various emotional backdrops. Earth-65, the home of Gwen Stacy, was designed to look like "impressionistic" watercolor paintings. The animation team created a simulator to generate this style and used a visual palette that reflects Gwen's emotions like a "three dimensional mood ring". According to co-director Justin K. Thompson, the reflection of her emotions through colors is inspired by a scene in 1950's Cinderella where her dress gets torn, and the enviroment reacts to that trauma. This style was also intended by Miller to remind the audience about the covers of the Spider-Gwen comic books. One of the two alternate Earths seen in the trailer was Earth-50101, which the crew nicknamed "Mumbattan" after Mumbai and Manhattan, due to that world being based on the one from Gotham Entertainment Group's Spider-Man: India comic book series. In order to give the character Pavitr Prabhakar unique motion and fighting style, creative team reserched the 2000-year-old Indian martial arts, Kalaripayattu, from the state of Kerala. The other universe was Nueva York, the futuristic New York City from the Marvel 2099 world, based on the neo-futurist illustrations by Syd Mead, which has an unfinished look.

 

While the cast and crew being interviewed for Empire in March 2023, co-director Joaquim Dos Santos revealed that another universe would be "the punky New London, inhabited by Daniel Kaluuya's Spider-Punk", with a final dimension "being kept tightly under wraps for now", later revealed to be Earth-42, the world the spider that bit Miles came from and where he has become that world's version of the Prowler. Spider-Punk's animation style alone took 2–3 years to finish and is inspired by punk-rock album covers emulating the look of Xerox prints, colored papers and imagery appropriated from magazines and has a general grayed-out quality due to copy machines not having toner in them. In May 2023, Jake Johnson revealed in an interview that a Lego universe will be featured in the film. The Lego sequence was done by 14-year-old Canadian animator Preston Mutanga and was added late in the movie, after the filmmakers were so impressed by his fanmade Lego recreation of the film's first teaser that they tracked him down and recruited him.

 

Miles's design was updated for the sequel to show him having gone through a growth spurt, while Gwen was given a new haircut and an updated costume. Rick Leonardi, the co-creator of Spider-Man 2099, was brought on to adapt his own designs for the film, while comic book artist Brian Stelfreeze was chosen to shape the visual development of Jess Drew. The Spot's design evolves throughout the film as he gains more control of his abilities, beginning with a style that looks like an "unfinished sketch [with] blue construction lines that evoke a comic book artist's rough drawing before the work goes to an inker". The Spot's portals were intended to look like "living ink that had spilled or splattered on the comic artist's drawing", which created new challenges for the animation team. The Vulture was given a Renaissance-era design inspired by the artwork of Leonardo da Vinci's workbooks.

 

POST-PRODUCTION

In May 2023, Powers revealed that the film would end on a cliffhanger; fellow co-director Dos Santos compared it to the Star Wars original trilogy film The Empire Strikes Back (1980). Powers explained:

 

Across The Spider-Verse is a movie on its own, but it definitely ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. I think it's a good cliffhanger. We hope that it's a satisfying tee-up for what's coming in the third film, because you want people to be excited about what's coming next. And it helps that we knew going in that this was part two of a three-part story. Since you already know that that third story is guaranteed, you can tackle it a bit differently. That being said, there's a lot of key characters in this film, and there's a story in this film that has an arc of its own that we needed to complete.

 

In the same month, Powers also stated that the film would not be "tied" to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). In the film, Spider-Man 2099 makes a direct reference to the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, telling Gwen to not "get [him] started on Doctor Strange and that little nerd back on Earth-199999" while attributing the events of No Way Home to the collider explosion from Into the Spider-Verse, the quote meant as a throwaway line that Lord and Miller came up with. Additionally, Donald Glover reprises his role as an alternate version of Aaron Davis / Prowler from the MCU film Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) in a live-action cameo, depicted as a prisoner of the Spider-Society displaced from his home reality.

 

Production on the film was completed on May 20, 2023, 13 days before the U.S. release date.

 

MUSIC

MAIN ARTICLE: SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE (SOUNDTRACK)

Daniel Pemberton confirmed in December 2020 that he would return to compose the sequel's score. In December 2022, Lord and Miller confirmed that Metro Boomin would create music for it. Several other artists were confirmed for the soundtrack, including Coi Leray, Swae Lee, Future, Don Toliver, James Blake, Offset, Wizkid, Lil Uzi Vert, 21 Savage, Lil Wayne, Nas and A$AP Rocky. For the Japanese release, an original song, "REALiZE", would be performed by LiSA. A new single "Mona Lisa" by Dominic Fike was also released on June 2, 2023.

 

MARKETING

In May 2020, Sony entered into a promotional partnership with Hyundai Motor Company to showcase their new models and technologies in the film. A prologue for the film was released at Comic Con Experience in December 2021, revealing the title and the fact that the film is a two-part sequel. Following the announcement of the new title and release date in April 2022, Lord and Miller showed 15 minutes of the film (with unfinished animation) at Sony's CinemaCon panel. Lord, Miller, and the directors showed the same footage at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June, with updated animation and effects. In February 2023, Funko Pops figures based on characters from the film were revealed. In April 2023, another 14-minute footage was previewed at Sony's CinemaCon panel.

 

In April 2023 alongside the release of the trailer, Sony shared a number that fans can text to join the "Spider Society", providing them questions as missions and rewarding them with exclusive images. Also In May, they created an AI-generated personality quiz that fans could get their own Spidersonas by taking the quiz and uploading selfie images of themselves.

 

On May 15, 2023; the movie started the sale of different Spider-Verse themed food items for their collaboration with Burger King. The items available during the promotion included the Spider-Verse Whopper with a red bun and the Spider-Verse Sundae. On May 20, 2023; Nike released a special iteration of the Air Jordan 1 High OG inspired by the film. On May 23, 2023, Epic Games added skins of Miles Morales and Spider-Man 2099 to Fortnite based on their designs in the film. The electronics manufacturer ZOTAC also partnered with Sony Pictures to create limited-edition Spider-Man-themed RTX 4070 graphics cards.

 

RELEASE

THEATRICAL

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse premiered on May 30, 2023, at the Grand Rex in Paris, France, and at the Regency Village Theater in Los Angeles, and was theatrically released in the United States on June 2, in premium large formats and IMAX. Unlike the first film, this film was not released in 3D. It was originally set for release on April 8, 2022, but was shifted to October 7 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was then moved to the June 2023 date.

 

Internationally, it is being released on dates ranging from May 31, 2023, to June 22, 2023. In China, the film had its premiere in Beijing on May 31, and was released on June 2. The film's release was delayed until June 22, 2023, in the MENA[b] region.

 

HOME MEDIA

In April 2021, Sony signed deals with Netflix and Disney for the rights to their 2022 to 2026 film slate, following the films' theatrical and home media windows. Netflix signed for exclusive "pay 1 window" streaming rights, which is typically an 18-month window and included the sequels to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse; this deal built on an existing output deal that Netflix had signed with Sony Pictures Animation in 2014. Disney signed for "pay 2 window" rights for the films, which would be streamed on Disney+ and Hulu as well as broadcast on Disney's linear television networks. Christopher Miller confirms that it "won't release digitally until August".

 

RECEPTION

BOX OFFICE

As of June 11, 2023, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has grossed $225.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $164.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide gross of $390 million. The film notably outgrossed the total gross of Into the Spider-Verse within the first 12 days of the former's release.

 

In the United States and Canada, Across the Spider-Verse was released alongside The Boogeyman, and was initially projected to gross around $80 million from 4,313 theaters in its opening weekend, with rival studios predicting it could reach $90 million. It made $17.35 million from Thursday night previews, the third-best total for an animated film after The Lion King ($23 million in 2019) and Incredibles 2 ($18.5 million in 2018). After making $51.7 million on Friday (including previews, the best first-day of 2023 up to that point), weekend estimates were increased to $113 million. It went on to debut to $120.7 million, the second-highest opening weekend total of 2023 (behind The Super Mario Bros. Movie's $146.4 million) and the eighth-best ever for an animated film. The film made $55.5 million in its second weekend, finishing second behind newcomer Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.

 

CRITICAL RESPONSE

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of 315 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.7/10. The website's consensus reads: "Just as visually dazzling and action-packed as its predecessor, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse thrills from start to cliffhanger conclusion." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 86 out of 100, based on 59 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled at PostTrak gave it a 93% overall positive score, with 82% saying they would "definitely recommend" it.

 

Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com gave the film 4/4 stars, writing, "Like the work of a young artist who refuses to be restrained by the borders of the frame, Across the Spider-Verse is loaded with incredible imagery and fascinating ideas. It is a smart, thrilling piece of work that reminded me of other great part twos like The Dark Knight and The Empire Strikes Back." Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post gave the film 3/4 stars, calling it "an extravagant, very cool love letter to graphic design, executed with superb draftsmanship and giddy, infectious joy." Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times also gave it 3/4 stars, writing, "It's a bit too much at times, but it's also pretty great, and it'll be a huge surprise if the third chapter in the trilogy isn't equally entertaining." Kevin Maher of The Times gave the film 4/5 stars, writing, "It rarely draws breath between set pieces, and creates distinct and spectacular environments for each separate spider-verse."

 

Rolling Stone's David Fear said that the film "completely recaptures the panel-to-panel thrill of discovering your respective era's teen-angsty Marvel icon. The thrill of the multiversal new is gone. Everything else, however, is extra-webbed for your pleasure." Alison Willmore of Vulture wrote, "Across the Spider-Verse looks incredible, even better than the groundbreaking first installment, but what's truly impressive about it is how willing it is to entrust its storytelling to its animation." The Atlantic's David Sims wrote that the film "avoids seeming like a physics lesson because its visuals are consistently thrilling; the most static bits of dialogue still pop because of how daring the animation is."

 

Kyle Smith of The Wall Street Journal wrote, "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has much of the whimsical energy of its predecessor, particularly in its wildly inventive visuals. But it has a slightly different writing lineup, and even its best bits feel like a rehash." Jake Wilson of The Age gave the film 3/5 stars, writing, "Typically for Lord and Miller, the upshot is both adventurous and conformist, an outwardly bold reimagining of the material that never stops congratulating us for our brand loyalty, and which plays it safer in plot terms than the early sequences might lead you to hope."

 

ACCOLADES

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse received a nomination for Best Animation/Family at the 2023 Golden Trailer Awards.

 

FUTURE

SEQUEL

A third film was confirmed when Lord and Miller revealed in December 2021 that the Into the Spider-Verse sequel was being split into two films. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part Two) was expected at that point to be released in 2023. In April 2022, it was retitled Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse and given a release date of March 29, 2024.

 

SPIN-OFF

Sony began developing a Spider-Women film in November 2018 that would focus on three generations of female, Spider-related characters. Bek Smith was writing the spin-off, and Lauren Montgomery was in talks to direct. Pascal said the film would focus on the characters Gwen Stacy / Spider-Gwen, Cindy Moon / Silk, and Jess Drew / Spider-Woman, and said Across the Spider-Verse would serve as a "launching pad" for it. In May 2023, producer Avi Arad stated that the film would be titled Spider-Woman.

 

MANGA SPIN-OFF

On May 29, 2023, it was announced that a manga spin-off titled Spider-Man: Octopus Girl written by Hideyuki Furuhashi and illustrated by Betten Court will begin serialization on June 20 on Shueisha's Shōnen Jump+ website and app. The story revolves around Doctor Octopus who falls into a coma and has been reawakened in the body of a young Japanese middle schooler Otoha Okutamiya.

 

NOTES

AS DEPICTED IN SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE (2018)

 This statement is referring to many cinemas/movie theaters in the MENA region who have changed the release date on their official websites, and stopped the sale of tickets. Some cinemas include: VOX Cinemas (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Lebanon, Kuwait, Egypt, Bahrain), ROXY Cinemas (UAE), Grand Cinemas (Lebanon, Kuwait, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia). All of these theaters in the MENA region state June 22, 2023, as the release date of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, in all countries where they operate.