Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

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[51] due to the "incredible buzz" surrounding the project.[52] The sequel was to continue the story of Miles Morales / Spider-Man,[53][54] working from "seeds [that were] planted" throughout the first film.[51] 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.[51] The next month, Pascal revealed that the film would focus on Miles and 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 featuring Gwen.[54] Sony officially confirmed the sequel in November 2019, with a release date of April 8, 2022, with Lord and Miller returning as producers.[55] In April 2020, Sony shifted the film's release to October 7, 2022, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[56]

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.[57] 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.[58]

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.[59] 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.[60][61][62] 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.[60]

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

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.[63] In November 2019, Lord indicated that the character Takuya Yamashiro was designed, though he didn't make an appearance in the movie.[64] In August 2020, Jake Johnson expressed hope that he could reprise his role as Peter B. Parker from the first film in the sequel.[65] Issa Rae was cast as Jess Drew / Spider-Woman in June 2021,[9] Johnson confirmed that he would be returning for the sequel a month later,[14] 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.[59][25] 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.[66] 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.[67] Christopher Daniel Barnes, who voiced Spider-Man in Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1994–1998), also expressed interest in returning for the film.[68]

In April 2022, Brian Tyree Henry and Luna Lauren Vélez were confirmed to be reprising their roles as Miles' parents from the first film while Rachel Dratch was revealed to be voicing the counselor at Miles' school.[11] Lord, Miller, and the directors announced in June that Jason Schwartzman would provide the voice of the film's main antagonist Johnathan Ohnn / the Spot, which was added to the story after a suggestion from producer Avi Arad (a second antagonist was later written out of the movie).[69] 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.[16] Shea Whigham and Jorma Taccone were also revealed to be voicing George Stacy and the Vulture, respectively.[20] Taccone previously voiced Norman Osborn / Green Goblin and Peter Parker / Spider-Man from the 1967 TV series in Into the Spider-Verse.[28][29] In November 2022, Daniel Kaluuya was confirmed to be voicing Hobart "Hobie" Brown / Spider-Punk in the film.[22] 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.[70] 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.[71] In January 2023, Nicolas Cage confirmed he would not be reprising his role of Spider-Man Noir for the film.[72] In February 2023, it was revealed that Karan Soni was cast as Pavitr Prabhakar / Spider-Man India in the film.[19] In April 2023, it was reported that Andy Samberg was playing Ben Reilly / Scarlet Spider.[73] A report confirmed his casting in May 2023,[31] when it was also confirmed that Amandla Stenberg would play Margo Kess / Spider-Byte.[74]

Delilah, a skilled assassin who serves as the bartender at the Bar with No Name in an alternate universe, was meant to make an appearance in the film, but her scene was cut. She would later be included in the Insomniac Games video game Spider-Man 2 (2023), whose Peter Parker / Spider-Man appears in the film.[75]

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,[64] with comic book artist Kris Anka later revealing that he was serving as a character designer on the film.[76][77] On June 9, 2020, the film's lead animator Nick Kondo announced that production had started.[78] The different universes visited in the film were designed to look like they were each drawn by a different artist.[59] 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 develop 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.[79] 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".[16] 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 environment 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. To give the character Pavitr Prabhakar unique motion and fighting style, the creative team researched 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 were being interviewed for Empire in March 2023, codirector 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.[79][80] Spider-Punk's animation style took two to three years to develop and is inspired by collage imagery of 1970s punk-rock album covers, posters, and zines emulating the look of Xerox prints, colored papers and images appropriated from magazines and newsprints, and has a general grayed-out quality due to copy machines not having toner in them.[81] Also the animators experimented with different frame rates in order to reflect DIY punk visuals and Spider-Punk's anarchic personality and tendency of inconsistency. His body is animated on 3s or 2s (8 or 12 images), his guitar on 4s (6 images), and his outline on 2s or 1s (12 or 24 images); unlike rest of the characters that are predominantly animated on 2s.[82] In May 2023, Jake Johnson revealed in an interview that a Lego universe would be featured in the film.[83] 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.[84]

Miles' 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, which was influenced by Austrian artist Egon Schiele,[85] evolves throughout the film as he gains more confidence and 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.[16] Thompson also revealed that the design of the spider in the "Go Home Machine" is influnced by the spider in the movie Krull (1983), which is also named "Ynyr" after a character from the film.[86]

In May 2023, Powers revealed that the film would end on a cliffhanger and co-director Dos Santos compared it to the Star Wars original trilogy film The Empire Strikes Back (1980).[87] 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.[87]

In the same month, Powers also stated that the film would not be "tied" to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). In the film, Miguel 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" — referring to the Doctor Strange and Spider-Man of the MCU — while attributing the events of No Way Home to the collider explosion from Into the Spider-Verse. The quote is meant as a throwaway line that Lord and Miller came up with.[88] 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.[89] When asked in an interview with Lord and Miller at a press junket if it were the same Prowler from the MCU, Miller responded "That is for you to decide. You know, all things are possible in the multiverse." Lord also responded with "We were also trying to give nods to the people that have fallen in love with these characters in other mediums."[90] Production on Across the Spider-Verse was completed on May 20, 2023, 13 days before the U.S. release date.[91] With a runtime of 140 minutes, it is the longest animated film ever produced by an American studio, surpassing Consuming Spirits (2012).[92]

On June 23, 2023, Vulture reported that four people who worked on the film alleged that production had faced difficulties due to numerous requests from Lord for changes to already finished animation, as well as the need for him to approve animation layouts early in production.[3][93][94] Lord's directions were said to take precedent over the decisions of the film's directing team and led to numerous weeks of long overtime as the animators drastically revised portions of the film several times. They further stated that difficult working conditions caused by the constant revisions caused over 100 artists to leave the project before its completion. One artist said that production on Beyond the Spider-Verse, the film's sequel, had not progressed, and that there was "no way that" it would be completed in time for its scheduled March 2024 release window. Sony denied the allegations concerning Across the Spider-Verse's production troubles, while declining to comment on the possibility of the sequel being delayed, and producer Amy Pascal called the process of heavy revision normal.[93][94]

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse premiered on May 30, 2023, at the Grand Rex in Paris, France,[108] and at the Regency Village Theater in Los Angeles,[109] 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.[61] It was originally set for release on April 8, 2022,[55] but was shifted to October 7 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[56] It was then moved to the June 2023 date.[61] It was the first Sony Pictures Animation film since The Angry Birds Movie 2 (2019) to receive a worldwide theatrical release after a number of the studio's animated films were assigned direct-to-streaming releases on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video in response to the closure of cinema theaters due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In China, the film premiered in Beijing on May 31, and was released on June 2.[110] The film's release initially was delayed until June 22, 2023, in the MENA[lower-alpha 2] region, but later withdrawn from cinemas across the region due to the film's transgender iconography.[111][112][113]

On June 9, 2023, in response to complaints of sound mixing issues from viewers in some theaters, Sony sent an updated version of the film with new audio mixing to theaters.[114][115] An official source told Variety that, while the issues were only present at a "handful of theaters", all prints of the film had been updated and re-sent to cinemas.[114] It was reported that at least two versions of the film—distinct in slight differences in dialogue and animations—exist in theaters. For example, in one version, a scene between Miguel and Lyla ends with Lyla giving a fist bump, while another ends in Lyla taking a selfie of them. The film's associate editor, Andy Leviton, confirmed the reports on Twitter.[116]

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was released on digital download by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on August 8, 2023, and on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on September 5.[117] The digital release of the film featured additional alterations from the initial theatrical cut, such as the removal of several lines of dialogue.[118] This version, which was also available in some theaters, was described by Miller as "an international version" of the film created to help with the necessary translations needed and to be approved by the French censorship board. He added that the animators "cleaned up and tweaked" some of the shots that had already been submitted for the finished version, with other members of the team, such as in the sound department, also suggesting alternate ideas, stating, "Because it's a multiverse movie, it's like there's a multiverse of the movie – that was really the reasoning behind it. It was trying to make the best possible version that everyone was going to be the proudest of." Lord believed some of these changes created an improved film.[119] Some of the alterations have been controversial with the film's fanbase.[120]

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.[121][122] 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.[121][123] 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.[122][124]

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse will be released on Netflix in the United States on October 31, 2023, becoming the first Sony Pictures Animation film to be available via Netflix since the expiry of an identical deal expired in May 2014.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse grossed $381.3 million in the United States and Canada, and $308.7 million in other territories, for a worldwide gross of $690 million.[4][125] The film surpassed Into the Spider-Verse's total gross of $384.5 million after 12 days of release,[126] and overtook The Smurfs to become Sony Pictures Animation's highest-grossing film.[127]

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.[128] 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).[129] 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.[130] It went on to debut to $120.7 million,[131] 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.[132] It also surpassed Hotel Transylvania 2 ($48.4 million in 2015) to achieve the highest opening weekend for a Sony Pictures Animation film.[133] The film made $55.5 million in its second weekend, finishing second behind newcomer Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.[134] It then made $27.8 million in its third weekend, finishing third.[135] The film would make $19.3 million on its fourth weekend, topping the box office once again amidst competition from No Hard Feelings, a new release, and The Flash and Elemental, both holdovers.[136]

Outside of the US and Canada, the film grossed $88.1 million from 59 markets in its opening weekend.[137] In its second weekend, Across the Spider-Verse grossed $47 million, for a drop of 44%,[138] while in its third weekend, it grossed $27.6 million from 60 markets, including Japan where the film made $2.8 million.[139] As of July 9, 2023, the highest grossing territories were China ($49.6 million), UK ($35 million), Mexico ($27.8 million), Australia ($20.6 million) and France ($13.4 million).[140]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of 379 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.6/10. 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."[141] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 86 out of 100, based on 60 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[142] 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.[132]

Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com gave the film 4 out of 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."[143] 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."[144] Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times also gave it 3 out of 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."[145] Kevin Maher of The Times gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, writing, "It rarely draws breath between set pieces, and creates distinct and spectacular environments for each separate spider-verse."[146]

David Fear of Rolling Stone 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."[147] 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."[148] 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."[149]

Kyle Smith of The Wall Street Journal described the film as being "visually hypercaffeinated", but with a slow plot in the first half of the film, plotlines being a "hectic series of clashes", action sequences that were "jumpy but not especially engaging", and "too many long monologues".[150] Jake Wilson of The Age gave the film 3 out of 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."[151]

A screenshot from the film, showing Gwen Stacy in her room with a "Protect Trans Kids" transgender flag on the right, above the doorframe

The film briefly features a transgender flag in two scenes, including on a banner seen hanging in Gwen Stacy's bedroom with the words "Protect Trans Kids". The flag's appearance led to speculation that Gwen supports her universe's transgender rights movement or some to interpret Gwen as being transgender herself.[112][152] Although she is not identified as transgender in the film, viewers and critics who supported this interpretation additionally pointed to the use of the flag's colors (light pink, light blue, and white) elsewhere in scenes involving Gwen and her universe, and the perceived parallels to coming out in her character arc within the film.[152][153] However, others have noted that the blue and white colors were already used by the comics' version of Spider-Woman Gwen Stacy, and thus were not necessarily proof that the film version of the character is trans.[112] The use of the transgender flag was reported to have led to the film being withdrawn from release in the United Arab Emirates and other MENA countries.[111][113]

An Internet meme involving the "canon event" began spreading on TikTok after the film's release,[154][155] which later became a trend.[156] According to TheBeauLife, it was inspired by the core memories meme in Inside Out (2015).[157] The meme's word "canon" elaborated its special defintion as "ironic (if not actually painful)" experiences in real-life.[158]

A third film was confirmed when Lord and Miller revealed in December 2021 that Across the Spider-Verse was being split into two films. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part Two) was expected at that point to be released in 2023.[59] In April 2022, it was retitled Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.[60][61] In response to a claim by an artist on Across, who spoke to Vulture on condition of anonymity, that it would not be possible to release Beyond as scheduled (which at that point had been on March 29, 2024) due to an alleged lack of production progress,[3] Lord and Miller stated that the production would "take the time necessary" for the film to be completed to their standards.[168] In July 2023, the film was removed from the release schedule, reportedly due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, as a source within Sony—a member of the AMPTP against whom SAG-AFTRA is negotiating—told Variety that the strike precluded the film's voice cast from recording their lines on schedule.[169]

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,[53] and Lauren Montgomery was in talks to direct.[51] 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.[54] In May 2023, producer Avi Arad stated that the film would be titled Spider-Woman.[170]

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 would 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 young Japanese middle schooler named Otoha Okutamiya.[171][172]