As Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse showed audiences, there's a multiverse filled with all kinds of Spider-heroes. The sky's the limit on who could team up with Miles Morales in the announced sequel, and one of the candidates under consideration is the Japanese Spider-Man from 1970s television. However, Phil Lord, Into the Spider-Verse's producer and co-writer, says that the movie currently playing in theaters will need to cross a specific box office milestone in order for Japanese Spider-Man to appear in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2.
You hear that, folks? If you want one of the weirdest versions of Spider-Man ever created to participate in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2, you'll need to help get its predecessor's box office numbers up stateside. In addition to one of the most critically acclaimed movies of 2018, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has also done well for itself financially, making over $200 million worldwide. However, looking just at the domestic numbers, Into the Spider-Verse is currently sitting at $103.6 million. So it's a little over the halfway point for the goal Phil Lord set on Twitter for fans, but since January is a lighter movie month, maybe more people will check it out after having heard all that positive buzz.
In case you're not familiar with Japanese Spider-Man, this version of the Web-Slinger, real name Takuya Yamashiro, led his own 41-episode TV show (plus a movie) in Japan, which was produced by Toei through a licensing deal with Marvel, from 1978 to 1979. Rather than having a similar origin to Peter Parker, Takuya instead stumbled across a crashed UFO containing Garia, the last warrior from Planet Spider. Before dying, Garia injected Takuya with some of his blood, giving him arachnid-like powers.
Takuya Yamashiro also obtained a bracelet that contained his Spider-Man costume, his web-shooters and the ability to control Garia's ship, the Marveller, which could transform into a giant humanoid robot named Leopardon. With these new abilities and gadgets, Takuya fought the forces of Professor Monster and other beings threatening Earth as Spider-Man, a.k.a. The Emissary from Hell (I doubt he'd have that moniker in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2 given its PG rating). Takuya also appeared in the 2014 Spider-Verse comic book event.
Whether or not Japanese Spider-Man shows up in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2, the prospect of seeing this kooky Spidey joining forces with Miles Morales sound incredibly cool, especially if he see him piloting Leopardon. For now, though, the only other character confirmed for the sequel is Spider-Gwen, who will become romantically involved with Miles.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2 doesn't have an assigned release date yet, so keep checking with CinemaBlend for that information and other updates. In the meantime, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is still playing in theaters, and be sure to look through our 2019 release schedule to find out what movies there are to look forward to over the coming year.
