Spider-Man is one of the most popular Marvel superheroes of all time, and as such he’s been adapted for film in various Marvel movies throughout the years. While Tom Holland is playing the hero in live-action, Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s animated blockbuster Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse was a massive success that even won an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. And it turns out there’s some huge ways that Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is breaking the franchise’s own records.
This week is CinemaCon, and various highly anticipated blockbusters presented new information and glimpses into their contents. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is no exception, with the first awesome footage revealed and directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller personally hyping up its contents. CinemaBlend was there to hear it all, with the filmmakers explaining why they wanted to expand the scope of the burgeoning franchise by saying:
But the problem is you can’t make a movie that was based on being unique and groundbreaking and then just do the same thing over again. So we had to try and break new ground. And so it’s way bigger. It’s the largest crew of an animated movie ever.
Points were made. Part of what made audiences and critics respond so strongly to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was because the animated 2018 blockbuster had such an ambitious, original take on the web slinger’s mythology. So in order to do a satisfying sequel, the same need for innovation was key to Across the Spider-Verse.
So how exactly did the animated sequel break its own records? To start, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has exceeded the record for the most crew members working on an animated movie. Funny enough, the first movie also had this honor back in 2018. As Miller and Lord shared:
That’s true, we broke a record on the first Spider-verse. The original record was 500 or so crew members. The first Spider-verse broke it with 800. This movie has 1,000 people working on it.
Clearly production in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is going to be a massive one. The first movie featured trippy and stunning visuals that really felt like a comic book come to life. And all those extra crew members will be necessary to make the sequel a reality. Namely because the mysterious story will be set across multiverse universes, rather than simply focusing on the home of Miles Morales. The filmmakers teased:
Our original movie took place in one universe and this one takes place in six universes.
Well, color me intrigued. Clearly Phil Lord and Chris Miller are going to greatly expand the new franchise in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. The 2018’s Into The Spider-Verse introduced a number of different web slinging heroes, so perhaps we’ll get to enter their respective universes in the highly anticipated sequel. Only time will tell.
Following a recent delay, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is currently expected to arrive in theaters on June 2nd, 2023. In the meantime, check out the 2022 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
