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Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
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Wikipedia article
'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' is an upcoming 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. Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, it is a sequel to 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse' (2018) and 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 by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and David Callaham. Shameik Moore voices Miles, starring alongside Oscar Isaac, Hailee Steinfeld, Jake Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Vlez, Issa Rae, and Jason Schwartzman. In the film, Miles goes on an adventure across the multiverse with a new team of Spider-People.
Sony began developing a sequel to 'Into the Spider-Verse' before that film's release in 2018, with the writing and directing team attached. It was set to focus on the relationship between Moore's Miles and Steinfeld's Gwen Stacy / Spider-Woman. The film 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.
'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' is scheduled to be released in the United States on June 2, 2023, delayed from an initial April 2022 date due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A third film, 'Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse', is set to be released in March 2024. A female-focused spin-off film is also in development.
Premise
Miles Morales / Spider-Man goes on an adventure across the multiverse with Gwen Stacy / Spider-Woman and a new team of Spider-People who must face a powerful villain.
Cast
* Oscar Isaac as Miguel O'Hara / Spider-Man 2099:
An alternate version of Spider-Man from the future, who Isaac described as "the one Spider-Man that doesn't have a sense of humor". The production team nicknamed him "Property Damage Spider-Man" due to the amount of damage that he leaves in his wake.
* Shameik Moore as Miles Morales / Spider-Man: a teenager who took over as Spider-Man after the death of his universe's Peter Parker
* Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen Stacy / Spider-Woman: a superheroine from another universe
* Jake Johnson as Peter B. Parker / Spider-Man: an older, disheveled version of Spider-Man from another universe who was a mentor to Miles
* Brian Tyree Henry as Jefferson Davis: Miles's father, a police officer who disapproves of Spider-Man's vigilante actions
* Luna Lauren Vlez as Rio Morales: Miles's mother, a nurse
* Issa Rae as Jessica Drew / Spider-Woman: a pregnant woman with spider-like abilities
* Jason Schwartzman as the Spot: a man whose body is covered in interdimensional portals
Additional voices include Rachel Dratch as the counselor at Miles's school; Shea Whigham as police captain George Stacy, Gwen's father; and Jorma Taccone as the Vulture, a Renaissance-inspired criminal with an Italian accent. The character Takuya Yamashiro (also known as the "Japanese Spider-Man") from the 1978 'Spider-Man' series will also appear in the film.
Production
Development
By the end of November 2018, ahead of the release of 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse' the next month, Sony Pictures Animation had begun development on a sequel to the film, due to the "incredible buzz" surrounding the project. The sequel was set 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 the film, respectively, with Amy Pascal returning from the first film as producer. The other producers of the first filmPhil Lord, Christopher Miller, Avi Arad, and Christina Steinbergwere all also expected to return for the sequel in some capacity. 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 two characters that had been cut from the first film. She added that the sequel would serve as a "launching pad" for a previously announced female-focused spin-off film starring Steinfeld. Sony officially confirmed the sequel in November 2019, setting a release date of April 8, 2022. Lord and Miller were confirmed to be returning as producers. When making changes to its film schedule in April 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sony shifted the film's release to October 7, 2022.In February 2021, Miller revealed that he and Lord were working on the film's screenplay with Callaham and said Peter Ramsey would serve as 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 of the sequel alongside Dos Santos, with all three having been working on the project since it started development. Thompson had previously served as production designer on the first film. Additionally, Arad and Steinberg were both confirmed to be returning as producers alongside Lord, Miller, and Pascal, with Alonzo Ruvalcaba co-producing and Aditya Sood executive producing alongside Ramsey. In December, Lord and Miller revealed that the film was being split into two parts, titled 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One)' and '(Part Two)', because they had written down the story they wanted to tell for the sequel and realized that it was too much for a single film. Work on both parts was taking place simultaneously. The two 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 revealed that they 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 has 240 characters and takes place in six universes.
Casting
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 indicated in November 2019 that the film would include Takuya Yamashiro, the "Japanese Spider-Man" from the 1978 'Spider-Man' series. 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 Jessica 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 Hollandwho plays Peter Parker / Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universerevealed 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.In April 2022, Brian Tyree Henry and Luna Lauren Vlez 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 the Spot would be the film's main antagonist, with Jason Schwartzman providing the 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.
Animation and design
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. 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".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 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 Jessica 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.
Music
Daniel Pemberton confirmed in December 2020 that he would return from the previous film to compose the sequel's score.
Marketing
In May 2020, Sony entered into a promotional partnership with Hyundai Motor Company to showcase their new models and technologies in the film. The first teaser 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. Miller revealed a first-look poster promoting the film on August 19, 2022.
Release
Theatrical
'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' is scheduled to be released in the United States on June 2, 2023, in premium large formats and IMAX. 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.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.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 renamed to '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 Jessica Drew / Spider-Woman, and said 'Across the Spider-Verse' would serve as a "launching pad" for it.References
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