Miguel O’Hara and Miles Morales are just two of 240 characters in Across the Spider-Verse. Screenshot: Sony
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse won’t hit theaters until next summer, but you can read about the first 15 minutes right now. Producers and writers Phil Lord and Chris Miller were at CinemaCon 2022 in Las Vegas this week to give theater owners a sneak peek at what’s in store for Miles Morales, Gwen Stacy, Miguel O’Hara, Jessica Drew, and yes, that is another confirmation Spider-Person fans can look forward to a sequel. All four appear in the film’s two opening scenes, which we’ve seen and described below.
Before we get to that footage description, however, it was also revealed that while Across the Spider-Verse is the title for part one, part two in 2024 is no longer part two. It’s officially called Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. Folks, we have a full trilogy in store. One that takes place in six dimensions rather than just the first film and features 240 characters as opposed to 40 in the first film. Lord and Miller called it the greatest animated film of all time (because 1000 people are working on it).
Across the Spider-Verse opens on Earth-65, Gwen Stacy’s world. And while I’ll provide some brief visual descriptions here, most of the footage was unfinished, making it impossible to fully tell how it will look when finished. However, Earth 65 seemed to have a very painterly quality to it. Like someone took a brush and dragged it across the backgrounds. At least that was the vibe I got.
In this aesthetic, things open up when Gwen comes home. Her father, a hulking man, is doing the dishes and is happy to tell her he thinks he has a breakthrough in the Spider-Woman case. He’s a cop, just like Miles’ father, and just like Miles’ father, he’s looking for his child. Gwen feigns interest in Dad’s excitement when he receives a scanner call from a possible supervillain event at the Guggenheim Museum. He tells her he thinks this might be the time they catch her. What happened is that Adrian Tooms the vulture took hostages in the museum. Only this Vulture is a little different. He speaks Italian, which confuses the cops because they don’t know what he wants. Gwen’s father is about to go to the museum when a bunch of nets grabs him and pulls him back. It’s Gwen. “What’s the hunt for me like?” She jokes before flying to the museum.
Gwen and Vulture start fighting. He’s covered in enormously ornate armor that makes him look like a gladiator (think last armor in Wonder Woman 1984). As they fight, he starts doing the conspicuous phase thing that happened in the last movie and Gwen starts to realize he’s from another dimension. Finally, Vulture slams her to the ground, grabs her, and unleashes five massive claws. He is about to kill her when a bunch of nets catches Vulture’s hand. It’s Miguel O’Hara and the screen tells us he’s from Earth-928. He saves Gwen and she starts joking with him. She asks him what he is, knowing full well that he is a spider-man and jokes that he is like a big black cat. “Dark Garfield,” she jokes, asking if he wants lasagna.
However, the hoax goes on for too long and Vulture gets back up. Now it’s him against Gwen and Miguel. As they fight, Miguel explains that he’s mad at her for what happened on Earth-610 with Kingpin’s Collider. Gwen says she thought they saved the multiverse, but Miguel says the opposite happened: They actually opened a hole in the multiverse so big that people now traverse it more regularly, like Vulture here. While this is all happening, Vulture wins. So, Miguel’s personal assistant, Lyla, jokes that maybe he should call for help. Miguel reluctantly agrees, to which Lyla says, “I already did.”
Gwen enters the world of Miles.Screenshot: Sony
Enter Jessica Drew from Earth-404, played by Issa Rae. She rides a motorcycle and Gwen is very excited to see another Spider-Woman. Especially one… who is pregnant. Five months to be exact, says Jessica. Gwen asks if she will adopt her and then the fight continues. As things continue, Jessica tells Miguel that maybe they should ask for Gwen’s help. He says no and that she knows why he can’t – we don’t know what he’s referring to. The fight flies up and outside the museum, where the police helicopter isn’t sure who the bad guy is, Vulture or Miguel. The fight disables the helicopter and it begins to fall. Gwen uses her spider sense to begin shooting webs to stop her fall. Shooting his own nets, Miguel flies through the cockpit to save the pilots. Jessica then helps slow the helicopter, which stops just before it hits the ground. Vulture was captured and the hostages rescued.
Cut to a POV of another character sneaking up on Gwen. It’s her father. He tells her that she is under arrest for the murder of Peter Parker. He wants her to put her hands up and lay on the floor, so she’s not sure what to do. But things quickly get serious. “You don’t understand,” Gwen stays until she realizes there’s only one option. She takes off her mask.
Dad is devastated. He can’t believe it’s his daughter. She explains that she wanted to tell him beforehand but couldn’t. “How long have you been lying to me?” he asks through tears. She asks if he thinks she is a murderess. And after a few slaps, he starts reading her Miranda rights to her. Gwen is shocked. Cry. scared. “Dad, are you really that scared of me?” she asks. But just as he is about to arrest her, Miguel traps him in a small force field.
“We can’t just leave her here,” says Jessica. “I’m not a babysitter,” replies Miguel. Gwen tells them she doesn’t know what to do, and Miguel tosses her one of his multiverse bracelet things and they leave.
Miles Morales! Screenshot: Sony
Cut to Brooklyn, NY, Earth-610. This is the world of Miles Morales. The world of the first film, so it looks the same. Miles’ parents are waiting for him at school for a parent-teacher conference, but of course Miles is late. He’s on the road as Spider-Man. So we see him flying around town while the parents and teacher are waiting. Eventually, he returns to his room, changes quickly, and says “hello” to his roommate, who lets Miles know he still has his mask on. “Face,” he says shyly. Miles is running down the hallways, crawling on the ceiling, and doing his best to get to the meeting as quickly as possible. And while this is happening, Rakim’s “Guess Who’s Back” is playing on the soundtrack.
Miles arrives at the conference and the teacher checks his grades. A in Physics, A in Art, A- in English and a B in Spanish. His mum Rio is mad at the last one and Miles explains it’s because he missed a few classes – which only makes her angrier. Six grades, actually, says the teacher, who suggests Miles is a kid who needs to start telling his story. A story that will lead him to one of the top science schools in the world, Columbia University. This is news for mom.
“In Manhattan? That’s too far,” says Rio. Miles is pissed because Manhattan is still New York, he doesn’t think it’s too far and explains why he wants to go there. He says Columbia has the best quantum researchers in the world. They study dark matter and could even travel to other dimensions. What his father Jefferson jokes: “Sounds like a bogus job.”
“It’s the special thing I want to do,” says Miles. He explains that there are literally people who can teach him how, but they’re not in Brooklyn. At that very moment, Miles’ spider sense tingles. He invents an excuse to leave the congregation. Mom asks if he ordered the cake, he says yes and leaves. We don’t know what that means. Just then, Dad gets a message over his radio about a possible superhuman event, and he has to leave too. Only the teacher and the mother remain. “Your son is lying,” says the teacher. “And I think you know it.”
what is he lying about Who gets through to his dimension? Who else is in this movie? We do not know. This is where the footage ended. Also, it’s important to note that beyond our description, the dialogues and exchanges are much more dynamic and fun. Things with Miles’ parents were especially sweet and the moment with Gwen’s dad was devastatingly sad. All in all, the June 2023 release date can’t come soon enough.
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