Spidey fans are looking forward to Sony Pictures Animation’s release of their first animated Spider-Man movie, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The movie has received plenty of buzz lately, following the release of the first official trailer in June. The trailer went viral online with fans enthusing over the colorful animation style that uniquely brings comic book art to life.
Fans are also excited about the upcoming first big-screen appearance of Miles Morales as Spider-Man. Miles is a Brooklyn teenager of mixed Puerto Rican and African-American heritage. The character was created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Sara Pichelli. He first appeared as Spider-Man in Marvel Comics in 2011.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse presents Peter Parker and Miles Morales in an alternate universe populated by multiple incarnations of Spider-Man. Parker, the original Spider-Man, who is now 40-years-old, takes the teenager under his wings and teaches him how to juggle the responsibilities that come with being the new wielder of Spidey’s superpowers and his ordinary daily life as a high school teenager.
Ahead of Miles’ highly-anticipated and groundbreaking cinematic appearance as Spider-Man alongside Peter Parker, we present everything we know so far about the upcoming movie.
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Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse release date
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is set to open in theaters on December 14, 2018. The only other major superhero film scheduled for release in the month is Aquaman (U.S. release date: Friday, December 21).
The release date for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse coincides with the release date for Universal Pictures’ Mortal Engines. Mortal Engines, directed by Christian Rivers, with a screenplay by Peter Jackson, Philippa Boyens, and Fran Walsh, is an adaptation of the post-apocalyptic adventure novel by Philip Reeve.
Mary Queen of Scots is set to be released on Friday, December 7, a week ahead of Into the Spider-Verse. The movie is a historical drama written by Beau Willimon and directed by Josie Rourke. It is based on My Heart Is My Own: The Life of Mary Queen of Scots, a biographical work by John Guy.
Other movies scheduled for release in December that would give Spider-man competition at the box office include Mary Poppins Returns (release date: Wednesday, December 19), Bumblebee (release date: Friday, December 21), Holmes & Watson (Friday, December 21), Welcome to Marwen (Friday, December 21), and Alita: Battle Angel (Friday, December 21).
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse swings into SDCC with Mile Morales, Peter Parker, Spider-Gwen and more. ? #SDCC2018 https://t.co/vLIkXqO8c9 pic.twitter.com/xa6IkQXost
— IGN (@IGN) July 21, 2018
Into the Spider-Verse directors and screenwriters
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is co-directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman. Although Persichetti is making his directorial debut with Into the Spider-Verse, he is already an established name in the animation industry. He was part of the creative team behind DreamWorks Animation’s Puss Boots (2011), Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005), and Disney’s Hercules (1997), Mulan (1998) and Tarzan (1999). He also wrote The Little Prince (2015).
Peter Ramsey directed Dreamwork Animation’s Rise of The Guardians (2012) and the Halloween TV special, Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space (2009). He worked as storyboard artist on several live-action films, such as Minority Report (2002), Independence Day (1996), Fight Club (1999) and Hulk (2003).
He means a lot to all of us, too. We can’t wait to show you what we’ve been up to! (New trailer coming in June!) https://t.co/n52D4yJvaE
— Peter Ramsey (@pramsey342) May 27, 2018
Rodney Rothman, who is also making his directorial debut, had previously been a writer on Letterman. He wrote 22 Jump Street (2014) and co-produced Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008).
Into the Spider-Verse is written by Phil Lord, who is co-producing the movie with Christopher Miller, Avi Arad, Amy Pascal, and Christina Steinberg. Lord and Miller are best known to fans of animation as the creative minds behind notable animation productions, such as Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and Lego Movie (2015).
Sony originally announced the screenwriters as Phil Lord, Chris Miller, and Rodney Rothman, but the final script was written alone by Phil Lord. Chris Miller, his longtime writing partner, isn’t getting any writing credit. This has raised eyebrows, coming after the pair was unexpectedly removed from directing Solo: A Star Wars Story midway through the production of the movie.
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Spider-Man: into the Spider-Verse voice cast
Sony announced the voice cast for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse in June 2018. The Get Down star, Shameik Moore, voices the lead character, Miles Morales, the Afro-Latino teenager who first appeared as Spider-Man in Ultimate Marvel (Ultimate Comics) in 2011, before he was moved to the mainstream universe of Marvel’s primary continuity. Peter Parker, Miles’ mentor in the animated movie, is voiced by New Girl (sitcom TV series) star Jake Johnson.
Liev Schreiber, who played Sabretooth in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, voices NYC crime boss Wilson Grant Fisk, aka the Kingpin. Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali voices Miles’ villainous uncle, Aaron Davis, aka Prowler (played by Danny Glover in Spider-Man: Homecoming), while Atlanta (TV comedy) star Bryan Tyree Henry voices Miles’ father, Jefferson Davis.
Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse will bring Penny Parker, Spider-Ham and more to the screen: https://t.co/zKGuSwhG7g pic.twitter.com/rFvOXnDQIv
— Empire Magazine (@empiremagazine) July 22, 2018
Lily Tomlin voices Aunt May, and Luna Lauren Velez lends her voice to Miles’ mother, Rio. Bumblebee (Release date: December 21, 2018) star Hailee Steinfeld voices Spider-Gwen, a superhero version of Gwen Stacy from an alternate universe in which Gwen, not Peter, was bitten by a radioactive spider.
New footage unveiled by Sony at San Diego Comic-Con on Friday, July 21, revealed that comedian John Mulaney will voice Spider-Ham while Nicolas Cage will voice Spider-Man Noir. Kimiko Glenn voices Peni Park.
Spider-Ham first appeared in Marvel Tails Starring Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #1 (1983) and later got a 17-issue bi-monthly series titled Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #1. Peter Porker is from Larval Earth (Earth-8311), a parallel Marvel world. He was born a spider but was transformed into an anthropomorphic pig with spider powers, apparently after he was bitten by an anthropomorphic radioactive pig.
The trailer also reveals that the Green Goblin will be involved in Spider-Verse action, but no voice casting has been announced so far for one of Spider-Man’s oldest and favorite foes. However, it is being speculated that the Green Goblin in the movie, being the Ultimate version of the supervillain, might need no voice casting.
Movie trailers
Sony has released two trailers so far for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The first, a teaser, released in December 2017, gave fans their first tantalizing glimpse of Morales as Spider-Man alongside Peter Parker. An official trailer for the movie, released on June 26, 2018, gave fans a more detailed look at the pair. The two-minute, 40-second trailer shows the first encounter between Morales and Parker. It also shows the two battling Spider-Man’s traditional enemies, such as the Green Goblin and the Prowler. They also meet some members of the expansive Spider-Verse, such as Spider-Gwen.
At a point in the storyline, a bewildered Morales asks, “Wait, so how many of us (Spider-People) are there?”
“Save it for Comic-Con,” Parker replies.
“What’s Comic-Con,” Morales asks.
The filmmakers were dropping the hint that Sony would reveal more Spider-People characters for the upcoming movie at San Diego Comic-Con.
Movie storyline and plot
The producers of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse have largely kept the plot of the movie under wraps, but the official synopsis and trailers confirm that the storyline is not connected to the MCU, being set in what Lord described at San Diego Comic-Con as an “alternate dimension to our own.”
We know from the official synopsis and trailers that Miles Morales is the main protagonist in the story, with Peter Parker playing a supporting role. We also know that there are several other Spidey characters from alternate universes.
The animated movie follows the origin of the Afro-Latino teenager as Spider-Man. Morales was also bitten by a radioactive spider and acquired powers similar to Parker’s. He lives with his family in an alternate universe where he is the only Spider-Man. His father, Jefferson Davies, is an officer with the NYPD. Although Miles is confused about his powers after he first acquired them, he keeps his Spider-Man identity secret.
New 'SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE' footage released at #SDCC2018https://t.co/aT4YLuXOCK pic.twitter.com/ZzadaUH8XZ
— ComicBook NOW! (@ComicBookNOW) July 21, 2018
He somehow ends up meeting Peter Parker. Parker dies at some point in the movie, and Morales is shown visiting his grave, but another Parker appears, and Morales apparently realizes that the living Parker is from an alternate universe. Morales manages to convince Parker to take him under his wings.
“It’s Peter Parker at 40, it’s Peter Parker with a bad back,” Jake Johnson explained. “He’s not sure he wants to be Spider-Man anymore.”
Parker trains Morales to manage his life as a superhero and a high school teenager. Morales and Peter team up to fight a number of villains, including the Green Goblin, the Kingpin, and the Prowler. They meet other Spider-Persons, including Spider-Gwen, Spider-Man Noir, Peni Parker, and Spider-Ham.