Just a few days before the release of Marvel’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” a different Spider-Man arrived to steal the show. Miles Morales is back upon the release of the first trailer for Sony’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – Part One.” The new trailer gives viewers an exciting first look at this heavily anticipated sequel.
The previous film, “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”, was a massive success. While it didn’t quite translate to box office sales, the film received universal praise from critics and audiences alike, many of whom particularly highlighted the gorgeous comic-inspired animation as well as the heartfelt story. Many fans found themselves placing it at the top of their “Best Spider-Man Movies” lists. The film even won Best Animated Feature at the 2019 Oscars. Fans have been clamoring for a sequel ever since the film’s 2018 release, and now their wish is finally granted with news of “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – Part One.”
The first thing to notice about this film is right in the title: “Part One.” This new film is just the first sequel to the original film with another one on the way soon. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, producers and writers for this series, said that a second part was not the initial plan. “Miles’ story is an epic,” they said in a tweet after the trailer was released. “We wrote what we thought the story needed to be, and to our surprise we realized it was two movies instead of one. We’re working on them both as we speak. Part Two will be out sometime in 2023. We will sleep again in 2024.” With so much story that it can’t even fit into one movie, it looks like fans can look forward to a whole host of “Spider-Verse” content that lasts for a long time.
The trailer starts off with Miles (Shameik Moore) getting a visit from an ally he met in the previous film: Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld). Miles looks much older and the two seem to have not seen one another for a while, suggesting that this film might take place well after the original.
Later, we see Miles head into the multiverse himself, crashing through a brand new location. This place can be seen to have some Hindi text, leading fans to speculate that this universe is home to comic book character Spider-Man India. However, Miles doesn’t appear to be there very long, because he is quickly attacked by another Spider-Man: Spider-Man 2099. This character, voiced by Oscar Isaac, is the alter ego of Miguel O’Hara, the Spider-Man in a universe that developed into a cyberpunk future. Miguel grabs Miles and brings him into Nueva York in his home universe through the use of a device on his wrist.
Traditionally, Spider-Man 2099 is a hero, so it’s extremely likely that he and Miles will quickly stop their conflict and join forces. With Miguel possessing a device that can allow people to travel between universes, it looks like he will be the one who introduces Miles to dimension hopping capabilities.
Many fans are wondering what other Spider-People might appear in this new film. “Into the Spider-Verse” introduced several different characters, such as Spider-Man Noir (Nicholas Cage) and Spider-Ham (John Mulaney). Plus, the synopsis for the film says Miles will “join forces with Gwen Stacy and a new team of Spider-People to face off with a villain more powerful than anything they have ever encountered.” One confirmed character is Jessica Drew, A.K.A Spider-Woman, voiced by Issa Rae. Also, since Miles can be seen in India in the trailer, it could indicate that Pavitr Prabhakar, also known as Spider-Man India, might make an appearance. Plus, a few Spider-Man logos flashed on-screen toward the end of the trailer that resemble other Spider-Men, including logos that look like Ben Reiley’s Scarlet Spider and Spider-Man from the “Ends Of The Earth” comic book storyline. Could this be a tease that these characters might show up? Finally, with Sony and Marvel playing nice and “Spider-Man: No Way Home” telling a multiverse story as well, we could see a crossover with the MCU Spider-Man. It probably would just be a cameo appearance, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility that this film contains a Tom Holland sighting.
One big question remains in the wake of this trailer: who is going to be the villain? If Miguel and Miles’ conflict is short-lived, then who is really going to serve as the antagonist. Well, there have been some unconfirmed rumors that C-list villain “The Spot” will fill that role. This would make sense, as The Spot typically has schemes involving the multiverse and has an origin tied to Kingpin, the previous film’s villain. Another possibility is The Inheritors, a group of vampire-like supervillains that feed exclusively on energy from different versions of Spider-Man. These characters were the villains in the original “Spider-Verse” comic. However, they seem like the kinds of characters that might work fine in a comic book, but would be hard for viewers to swallow on the big screen. Only time will tell who the villain will be, and whether they will be the villain for both parts of “Across the Spider-Verse” or give way to a new threat in part two.
There is still a lot left unknown about “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – Part One,” but this trailer provides plenty for fans to get excited about. The promise of bringing new characters and a bold new conflict with the stunning animation and fabulous writing of the first film makes the film look like it’s well-positioned to be another huge hit.
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – Part One” is set to be in theaters Oct. 7, 2022.
By Ben Lindner