Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse Phil Lord And Chris Miller Clarify The Sequel Having Multiple Versions
Which one did you see?
Usually when a movie is shown in theaters, everyone around the world is seeing the exact same final product, aside from dialogue being dubbed in other languages, of course. Not so with Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, as a few weeks into the sequel’s theatrical run, it was confirmed there were multiple versions of the movie playing on the big screen. Now that Across the Spider-Verse is available for digital purchase, producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller have clarified what was going on with these various tweaks to the 2023 new movie release.
While promoting about their latest movie, Strays, Lord and Miller, who also co-wrote Across the Spider-Verse’s script with Dave Callaham and had previously directed Into the Spider-Verse, spent some time talking with The Wrap going discussing Across the Spider-Verse, specifically how the immediate months leading to the wide release, though a full cut of the movie had been put together, aspects of it were altered in the aftermath. As Miller explained:
So in order for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse to be presented in Europe, the movie’s team had to put together a complete version that could be played for these French censors, and once delivered, it couldn’t be changed. However, the animators discovered some ways to improve Across the Spider-Verse afterwards, and while that resulted in their preferred version of the movie, a lot of people internationally haven’t been able to see it. Miller continued:
Phil Lord then added that these tweaks amounted to “mostly improved effects shots and a couple of audio fixes,” as well as “a couple of things that we did for our own vanity here and there.” However, he and Chris Miller consider the movie that’s now available to digitally watch and will soon come out on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD to be the “posterity edition.” He and Chris Miller also asserted that they they wouldn’t describe this as multiple “versions” of Across the Spider-Verse being out there, which makes sense given that the main story unfolds the same way no matter where you’re watching it. As Lord put it:
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’s theatrical run has arrived at the finish line, and with a $684.4 million worldwide haul, it currently stands as 2023’s fifth highest-grossing movie. If you want to acquire a copy of the sequel in disc form, you’ll need to wait until Tuesday,. September 5. Let’s also not forget how Across the Spider-Verse left audiences with a wild cliffhanger ending that sets the stage nicely for Beyond the Spider-Verse. Sadly, the threequel was recently removed from Sony’s release calendar, so it’s anyone’s guess for now when this trilogy will conclude.
Meanwhile, you can learn what movies will be coming out soon by looking through our 2023 release schedule and 2024 release schedule. Also, don’t forget that streaming-wise, Across the Spider-Verse will first be made available to Netflix subscribers.
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Connoisseur of Marvel, DC, Star Wars, John Wick, MonsterVerse and Doctor Who lore, Adam is a Senior Content Producer at CinemaBlend. He started working for the site back in late 2014 writing exclusively comic book movie and TV-related articles, and along with branching out into other genres, he also made the jump to editing. Along with his writing and editing duties, as well as interviewing creative talent from time to time, he also oversees the assignment of movie-related features. He graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Journalism, and he’s been sourced numerous times on Wikipedia. He's aware he looks like Harry Potter and Clark Kent.