The Spider-Verse is getting a massive expansion in “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.” During CinemaCon 2022, film producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller teased some major changes in the sequel film that’s reportedly getting “way, way, way bigger.” In April, Variety reported that during the annual convention, Lord and Miller showed a crowd of movie theater owners an exclusive look at raw footage from the first 15 minutes of “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” but not before teasing some new details about the film.
According to Lord and Miller, the sequel will take place in six universes and feature a total of 240 characters, compared to “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” which only had 40. The producers also announced the official title of its next film installment: “Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.”
Though there’s much excitement around “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” fans are going to have to wait a little while longer for the film to arrive. On April 20, Sony Pictures announced some changes to its theatrical-release calendar, as reported by Deadline, and one of the biggest updates is “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”‘s premiere date.
Part one of the follow-up to Oscar-winning film “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” has been pushed from its October 2022 premiere date to June 2023, which means part two has also been delayed, now slated to release on March 29, 2024.
Fans were eager to see the story of Miles Morales continue in “Across the Spider-Verse” after Sony Pictures dropped the film’s first-look teaser in December. Not much is known about the sequel, but according to the first two-and-a-half-minute trailer, the film promises that Miles’s story and the Spider-Verse web will grow tremendously.
“We wrote what we thought the story needed to be, and to our surprise we realized it was two movies instead of one.”
Buzz around the animated sequel has been high ever since “Into the Spider-Verse” won best animated feature at the 2019 Oscars — a category first for a film from Sony Pictures Animation. So with expectations already high, fans are especially curious about how much action will unfold in “Across the Spider-Verse” since the film had to be split into two parts.
In a December interview with Entertainment Weekly, Lord and Miller explained the decision to churn two films out of this particular franchise title. “Miles’ story is an epic,” the pair told the outlet. “We wrote what we thought the story needed to be, and to our surprise we realized it was two movies instead of one.”
Read ahead for more details on “Across the Spider-Verse,” including who’s in the cast, the plot, and the release date.
The “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” Cast
Daniel Kaluuya will join the cast as Hobart “Hobie” Brown, also known as Spider-Punk, The Hollywood Reporter revealed on Nov. 7. The character is a homeless teen who becomes a hero that defends the citizens of New York. Reps for Kaluuya did not immediately respond to POPSUGAR’s request for comment.
Meanwhile, “Wu-Tang: An American Saga” star Shameik Moore will return to voice the role of Miles Morales in the forthcoming animated feature. Other actors voicing characters in the movie include Hailee Steinfeld as Spider-Gwen; “Atlanta” star Brian Tyree Henry and Luna Lauren Velez as Miles’s parents; “Moon Knight” star Oscar Isaac as Miguel O’Hara, aka Spider-Man 2099; Jake Johnson as Peter Parker; and “Insecure” creator Issa Rae as Jessica Drew, aka Spider-Woman.
The “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” Plot
Exact details about the movie’s plot have yet to be revealed, but its teaser trailer hints that Miles will explore uncharted territory in a whole other dimension — which has a new look and a new villain: O’Hara/Spider-Man 2099. Based on their brief squabble at the end of the clip, O’Hara will definitely be integral to the “Across the Spider-Verse” plot. Variety also shared details based on exclusive footage shown from the film, which reveals that Vulture will make an appearance in the sequel, too.
The “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” Release Date
According to Sony Pictures’s updated theatrical-release calendar, the studio announced that “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” has been pushed to June 2, 2023. The animated film was originally slated to hit theaters on Oct. 7 of this year.
The “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” Teaser Trailer