Miles Morales is coming back to the big screen next year in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and just like in his theatrical debut in 2018, he’ll be teaming up with various Spider-themed heroes from other universes. Some of those faces will be familiar, including Jake Johnson’s Peter B. Parker and Hailee Steinfeld’s Gwen Stacy, but as with any sequel, it’s also bringing new players into the mix. On that note, it’s been revealed that Black Panther’s Daniel Kaluuya will voice one of Across the Spider-Verse’s web-slinging heroes.
The actor who played W’Kabi in Black Panther (but wasn’t able to return for Wakanda Forever) is joining the Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse proceedings as Hobie Brown. However, rather than this version of Brown following in his mainstream counterpart’s footsteps and going by The Prowler, like Mahershala Ali’s Aaron Davis did in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, we’re getting the Spider-Punk variation of the character. Daniel Kaluuya’s Spider-Punk is described by THR as “a homeless teenager who becomes a hero to the oppressed citizens of New York in his dimensional universe.”
While the original version of Hobie Brown was introduced in 1969’s The Amazing Spider-Man #78, the Spider-Punk version hit the scene in 2015’s The Amazing Spider-Man #10, created by Dan Slott and Olivier Coipel. Hailing from Earth-138, Spider-Punk gained his powers from a spider irradiated from the toxic waste dumped on the orders of President Norman Osborn. After creating his masked persona, Hobie led an uprising against Norman and his V.E.N.O.M. soldiers, which culminated in him killing the president by bashing him in with his guitar. Spider-Punk was a prominent player in the Spider-Verse and Spider-Geddon crossover events, and he recently led his own limited series.
It sounds like Daniel Kaluuya’s Spider-Punk has the same kind of background in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, although it’s unclear if Norman Osborn is also the source of trouble to the people in his New York or someone else. Either way, the events of the sequel will lead to Hobie Brown meeting other Spider-heroes, all of whom are coming together to face off against Jason Schwartzman’s Spot, who’s able to naturally conjure portals to other realities. Across the Spider-Verse will be Kaluuya’s third comic book movie, as along with Black Panther, he appeared in Kick-Ass 2 as Black Death.
Spider-Punk is the second new Spider-hero who’s been cast in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, with Issa Rae having previously come aboard to play Jessica Drew. We’ll also meet Takuya Yamashiro, a.k.a. the Spider-Man from the 1978 Japanese Spider-Man TV series, but it hasn’t been revealed yet who’s voicing him. Other newcomers for the sequel include Shea Whigham as Captain George Stacy and Jorma Taccone as a Renaissance-variation of The Vulture. Across the Spider-Verse will also see Oscar Isaac’s Miguel O’Hara, a.k.a. Spider-Man 2099, coming to the forefront after cameoing in the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse end-credits scene.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is now set for June 2 among the 2023 movie releases, and Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse will follow on March 29, 2024. If you’re itching to watch Daniel Kaluuya in something, his latest movie, Nope, can be streamed with a Peacock subscription.
