Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verseis an innovative-animated movie that featuresSpider-Mancharacters from many different universes. Its predecessor,Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,was a commercial success and received much critical acclaim due to its unique narrative style. It introduced fans to Shameik Moore’s Miles Morales back in 2018 and proved a huge success with its creative storylines, colorful animation, and heartwarming characters. TheSpider-Mangang is set to get bigger for this new venture with Spider-Gwen and a host of interdimensional Spider-People joining forces with Miles Morales to battle a powerful new foe known as the Spot. With an exciting array of characters ready to hit the big screen and an ambitious script,Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verseis sure to deliver even more thrilling action than its predecessor.
In an interview withThe Direct, senior character animator Ere Santos revealed that the film was initially envisioned as anAvengers: Endgame-like conclusion to theSpider-Versefranchise. According to Santos, when he joined the team and received initial pitches for the film, it was assumed that he would be working on a single two-and-a-half-hour movie which would have encompassed both the upcoming Spider-Verse films.
“[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. But it would have been good. It would have been like, what they were planning was gonna be like Endgame-esque stuff. Like it was huge. And what they’re planning is still huge.”
“But then kind of spreading it out and into two gives it that breathing room we all felt that it really needed to kind of go, ‘Okay, what do you what do we need to set up in the second movie? And how can we resolve it in the third movie? Or not?’ I don’t know. We’ll have to see. It was a really ambitious movie, and at the beginning, it was insanely ambitious, versus what it is now. It’s still super ambitious, but it was like trying to fit two movies into one essentially. But now things can breathe a little bit more.”
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HowInto The Spider-VerseDiffers FromAcross The Spider-Verse
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verseshattered cinematic expectations, and its upcoming sequel looks to be taking the concepts of the multiverse to new heights. The film introducesdozens of new spider people, namely those that were barely glimpsed in the trailer, but what’s even more exciting is the introduction of a new villain. This villain, known as The Spot, has powers that allow him to create interdimensional portals at will. The ability to do this opens up an endless number of possibilities, from exploring completely different versions of our own world to entering undiscovered realms never seen before. If what we’ve seen so far is any indication, thenSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Versewill be one big adventure that requires intense bravery and heroics for our favorite web-slinger and his allies.
The shift from one to two movies may have surprised some, but it doesn’t mean that the grand finale is any different. In fact, with the extra breathing room afforded by the two films, theSpider-Versesequel could actually be richer and more meaningful than first imagined. Instead of intense moments and expanded action sequences spilling over into one another, we will get deeper explorations of our beloved characters; their connections to each other and their compelling stories will finally have room to shine through. As a result, incredible moments in this epic conclusion would be allowed to take center stage in a way they wouldn’t have been able to if all had been squashed into a single movie.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verseis scheduled to be released on July 12, 2025.
