Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is the latest installment in Sony’s animated Spider-Man franchise.
With Spidey’s MCU counterpart Tom Holland recently helping Spider-Man: No Way Home break box office records, demand and anticipation for info about the follow-up to the Oscar-winning animated movie were sky-high ahead of the webslinger's latest outing.
It's already been five years since Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse stunned critics and audiences alike, leading producers to confirm back-to-back sequels in the form of Across the Spider-Verse and the threequel, Beyond the Spider-Verse, which is slated for March 2024. From the sounds of things, Miles' second outing has certainly lived up to expectations!
Here’s everything we know including the latest trailer and all the latest info about Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse...
How to watch Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Across The Spider-Verse is now in theaters after releasing on Friday, June 2.
Following its theatrical window, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse will hit streaming for a fixed period first on Netflix (likely 18 months) before moving to Disney Plus, thanks to lucrative deals signed between the streamers and the studio last year.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse: what the critics are saying
Critics are loving Across the Spider-Verse just as much as they did the first instalment in the animated franchise. At the time of our latest update, the film has a 95% fresh critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the audience rating just one point higher at 96%.
In What To Watch's Across the Spider-Verse review, we called the film a 'visual feast' and 'a must-see summer blockbuster'.
The Guardian's Wendy Ide gave the film a five-star rating, writing: "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is sublime. There's not a frame of this rich, kaleidoscopically detailed animation that isn't dazzling."
Writing for RogerEbert.com, Brian Tallerico said the sequel builds on the foundation of the first one "with stunning animation, unforgettable characters, and complex themes."
Empire's Ben Travis was equally enthusiastic. He said: "Across the Spider-Verse cranks every dial to 11, and somehow doesn't collapse in on itself. Visually astonishing, emotionally powerful, narratively propulsive — it's another masterpiece."
What's the plot?
The official plot summary from Sony Pictures reads: "Miles Morales returns for the next chapter of the Oscar-winning Spider-Verse saga, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
After reuniting with Gwen Stacy, Brooklyn’s full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is catapulted across the Multiverse, where he encounters a team of Spider-People charged with protecting its very existence. But when the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles finds himself pitted against the other Spiders and must redefine what it means to be a hero so he can save the people he loves most."
Producer Amy Pascal confirmed ahead of release that the film explored elements of Miles and Gwen’s relationship that couldn’t fit into Into the Spider-Verse, and this summary (and the latest trailer) confirmed our earlier suspicions that Miguel O'Hara (Spider-Man 2099) will be going toe-to-toe with Miles Morales in the new film.
Across the Spider-Verse rumors
One of the tastiest rumors in circulation was the idea of an MCU/Sony character crossover. Following the success of Spider-Man: No Way Home — which brought historic Spidermen together in the form of Andrew Garfield, Tobey Maguire and Tom Holland — plus loaded comments from writers Phil Lord and Chris Miller about the endless possibilities of the multiverse, there is the distinct possibility that characters from No Way Home could appear in this animated outing (we won't spoil whether they do or don't here!).
Other hints this Marvel-melding might become a reality could be seen in the prevalence of hexagons in the trailer. Hexagons were used as portals in Captain Marvel and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 — as well as in the TV show WandaVision to represent the Westview Anomaly (or “The Hex”) to connect realities.
It’s a certainty that other Spider-people will be part of this year’s gang (Spider-Woman and Japanese Spider-Man have been confirmed) and Spider-Punk also cropped up in the latest teaser.
On June 13 last year, we finally learned the identity of the villain. Speculation had previously pointed to The Spot, a rumor which was confirmed in a later announcement on the Spider-Verse Twitter account describing him as 'Miles Morales's most formidable foe yet'.
The Spot's dimension-hopping powers are on clear display in the accompanying art, as Miles' foot has slipped right through a portal, and he's instead kicking Gwen Stacey square in the face.
Meet The Spot, Miles Morales's most formidable foe yet. 🕳 Voiced by Jason Schwartzman, see him in action in Spider-Man: Across the #SpiderVerse, exclusively in movie theaters June 2, 2023. pic.twitter.com/1aAmMjMcpXJune 13, 2022
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse cast
It’s no surprise that the leads in the star-studded original film returned for the sequel, with Shameik Moore and Hailee Steinfeld voicing Miles Morales and Gwen Stacey, and Jake Johnson once again picking up his mantle as Peter B. Parker (Miles’ mentor from another universe in Into the Spider-Verse).
Issa Rae voices Spider-Woman and Oscar Isaac plays Miguel O'Hara, aka Spider-Man 2099, whilst Get Out's Daniel Kaluuya is voicing Hobart 'Hobie' Brown, aka Spider-Punk, and Karan Soni is voicing Pavitr Prabhakar (Spider-Man India).
Jason Schwartzman voices the new villain, The Spot. Jorma Taccone has also been cast as the voice of The Vulture, and Shea Whigham is voicing police captain George Stacey, Gwen's "by-the-books" father.
Fan favorites such as Nicolas Cage as Spider-Man Noir and John Mulaney as the logic-fond Spider-Ham were unknown quantities for some time, though Cage has subsequently confirmed that, whilst he's a big fan of his character, Spider-Man Noir is not part of the film.
When asked if he was returning. Cage told Screen Rant: "You'd have to ask Sony. I don't know what's going on with that. No one's spoken to me about that. Ask them. I don't know. I really don't. I wish they would. I love Spider-Man Noir, too. I think that's a great character. Spider-Man's the coolest superhero. And then you combine that with Cagney and Bogart and Edward G. Robinson, come on, it's a great character."
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse trailer
Sony released another trailer on May 11. Check out the clip below.
A new trailer for Across the Spider-Verse arrived on April 4. In it, Miles finds his way to "the lobby" with Gwen, where all the best Spider-People hang out. He wants to join the crew, but leader Miguel O'Hara makes it clear he doesn't want him around.
O'Hara can later be heard telling him that Miles has a choice to save one person or the world. Miles refuses to make that choice and is determined he can do both, so Miguel dispatches the Spider-crew to stop him. Cue Miles taking on the multiverse as he's determined not to let anyone else tell him what to do. Oh, and we wouldn't want to neglect to mention The Spot's brief appearance early on, too. Check it out below:
Below, you can find the older trailers for the movie if you're desperate to see more.
Who's making Across the Spider-Verse?
Much of the creative team from Across the Spider-Verse has been imported for Across the Spider-Verse, most notably movie-making masters Phil Lord and Chris Miller— the brains behind 22 Jump Street and the surprise success of The Lego Movie—who serve as producers and writers, along with extra scriptwriting from Dave Callaham (Wonder Woman 1984 and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings).
The aforementioned Amy Pascal also produces, along with Avi Arad (producer of many a Sony superhero flick) and Christina Steinberg (National Treasure, Rise of the Guardians). New to the team are accomplished animation directors Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson.
Spider-Man films and more from the Spider-Verse
With a potential MCU crossover in the works, things could get even harder to keep track of. As a refresher, here are all the Spider-Man movies to date, up to and including Across the Spider-Verse.
- Spider-Man (2002) dir. Sam Raimi, Spidey: Tobey Maguire
- Spider-Man 2 (2004) dir. Sam Raimi, Spidey: Tobey Maguire
- Spider-Man 2 (2007) dir. Sam Raimi, Spidey: Tobey Maguire
- The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) dir. Mark Webb, Spidey: Andrew Garfield
- The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) dir. Mark Webb, Spidey: Andrew Garfield
- Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) dir. Jon Watts, Spidey: Tom Holland
- Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) dirs. Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman
- Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) dir. Jon Watts, Spidey: Tom Holland
- Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) dir. Jon Watts, Spideys: Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield, Tobey Maguire
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) dirs. Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson, Spidey: (voiced by) Shameik Moore
- Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse (2024) dirs. Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson, Spidey: (voiced by) Shameik Moore
