Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is set to release on June 2, 2023, after almost five years since the first movie. This film is a sequel to the award-winning movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and the public is eagerly waiting to experience the upcoming movie.

This new Spider-Man movie is going to have most cast members reprising their roles from Into the Spider-Verse, so you can expect to see interactions from characters that have appeared before. Some of the main cast includes Shameik Moore as Miles Morales, Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen Stacy, Oscar Isaac as Miguel O’Hara, Jake Johnson as Peter B. Parker, Issa Rae as Jessica Drew, Daniel Kaluuya as Hobart ‘Hobie’ Brown, and Jason Schwartzmann as Johnathan Ohnn.

Across the Spider-Verse was originally supposed to hit theaters in April 2022, but was delayed to October due to the pandemic. In October, it was postponed again so the creators could put more details into the picture. Phil Lord and Chris Miller, executive producers of the film, told Deadline, “We could try to get it out at the original date and it would be fine. But the expectation for this film is it has to be as ground-breaking and special and wonderful as the first one was. So we thought ‘Let’s make it great.’”

 Along with the previous Spider-Men (and Women), the new film will add even more Spider-People to the Spider-Verse. From the two trailers that have come out, there are dozens of different Spider-people that can be seen and each has its own distinct look and style. From the first Spider-Verse movie, Miles Morales, Gwen Stacy, and Peter B. Parker have their own unique designs that set them apart from the others. Miles Morales has a spray-painted spider on his suit, paying homage to his uncle and his love for art. Gwen Stacy has a hood on her suit, symbolizing a closed-off character that is slowly opening up. Peter B. Parker is designed with a more laid-back feel, often seen wearing sweatpants and having a heavier build. For characters in the upcoming movie, there is Miguel O’Hara, Hobie Brown, and many more. Miguel O’Hara seems to have claws that he uses to propel himself forward in chase scenes. Hobie Brown, otherwise known as Spider-Punk has a mohawk and wears jeans as a part of his suit, showing his rock look. 

The first Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse movie was not only well known for its plot but also the animation style it used. From when the trailer for the first movie dropped, people have praised the unique visuals the film brought to the table. It is said to have challenged the “Pixar look” of computer animation. This animation style can be seen in most Pixar movies as well as many of today’s animated movies. The animation style has cartoon characters and settings that are rendered with a realistic feel.  For example, environments animated in Pixar films look as though they can be seen in real life. This “Pixar look” has become normalized in the industry over the past few years since it found great success at the box office. 

Though there have been a few films that ventured into a more stylized, comic book animation look, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was a breakthrough for this style. The animation style of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse combines pop art and comic book drawings. If there are people in the background, they are simplified as blocks of color instead of drawing every single person. There are different textures used in the animation that resemble what you would find in comic books.

Today, while Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse helped evolve the animation industry, the story of Miles Morales is not finished. After Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is released, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse is planned to come out on March 29, 2024. Claire Leininger (9) comments, “I loved the first movie and can’t wait to see what Miles Morales faces in the next movies.”