Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse co-director Joaquim Dos Santos teases that the sequel will be like five films in one.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was a visual marvel, but it sounds like the upcoming sequel will be pushing those visuals to the extreme. In fact, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse co-director Joaquim Dos Santos told Empire that the movie includes so many visually-distinct worlds that they’ve “essentially made five films in one.“
In addition to the universe of Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse will include Gwen’s (Hailee Steinfeld) Earth-65, Miguel O’Hara’s (Oscar Isaac) Nueva York, Spider-Punk’s (Daniel Kaluuya) New London, the India-inspired Mumbattan, and a fifth dimension which is being kept under wraps. “It goes hard,” said writer/producer Phil Lord. “The visuals will be jaw-dropping.” You can check out an image from the Mumbattan universe courtesy of Empire below.
“The first film was about bringing characters into Miles’ dimension,” explained writer/producer Christopher Miller. “This is about Miles heading off into others.” Of course, visuals aren’t everything, but Shameik Moore believes that the story of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse will be even better than the first movie. “I will say that this story tops the first one,” Moore teased. “If the sky was the limit last time, the sky is now the floor. We’re stepping on it and looking at Jupiter!“
The image seen above includes a look at the sequel’s villain, The Spot (Jason Schwartzman). Kemp Powers, who co-directs alongside Joaquim Dos Santos and Justin K. Thompson, explained last year why The Spot is the perfect villain for the movie. “The Spot is an interesting villain because he seems like a joke, but when you really look at his powers, there’s incredible potential,” Powers said. “His ability to open portals across dimensions sets him up perfectly for the Spider-Verse. He’s the villain of the next two films… and let’s just say that the Spot and Miles are connected in surprising ways.“
“When Miles Morales is unexpectedly approached by his best friend and love interest Gwen Stacy to complete a mission to save every universe of Spider-People from a mysterious new villain who could cause a catastrophic disaster, Miles is up for the challenge,” reads the official synopsis for Spider-Man: Acorss the Spider-Verse. “He and Gwen journey through the Multiverse together and meet its protectors, a group of Spider-People known as the Spider-Force. However, Miles finds himself at odds with the Spider-Force on how to handle the threat.” Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse will debut on June 2, 2023, followed by Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse on March 29, 2024.