Sony Pictures Animation previewed a still unfinished 14 minutes of the eagerly-anticipated Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the sequel to best animated feature Oscar winner Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Monday at CinemaCon.
“In 2018 we delivered the most creatively ambitious movie I’ve ever been a part of,” said SPA president Kristine Belson. “We are deeply proud of the sequel.”
The movie again follows Marvel’s Miles Morales/Spider-Man, voiced by Shameik Moore, and Gwen Stacy/Spider-Woman, voiced by Hailee Steinfeld, set across the multiverse of Spider-People. At CinemaCon, the pair were joined by new voice cast member Issa Rae (Jessica Drew) and Kemp Powers, one of the film’s trio of directors, to introduce the film.
It begins with Miles in his bedroom, when he receives an unexpected visit from Gwen Stacy. They swing and talk high above Brooklyn until they are interrupted by Miles’ parents. Before the segment ends, Miles has another touching talk with his mother, voiced by Luna Lauren Velez.
Powers related that the sequel is “the continuation of the story of Miles Morales, bringing in lots of characters, old and new, on same emotional journey.”
“It’s been over a year since the events of first movie and he’s still trying to learn to be a super hero,” Moore added, saying that this movie shows that “how you wear the mask is what makes you a hero.”
Rae introduced her “non-nonsense” Spider-Woman while Steinfeld said she’s glad Stacy’s Spider-Woman is “so inspiring to young girls.”
This time around, a new trio of helmers will make their feature directorial debuts: Powers, a 2021 adapted screenplay Academy Award nom for One Night in Miami, and co-director of Pixar’s Soul;Joachim Dos Santos, storyboard artist on series Avatar: The Last Airbender; and Justin K. Thompson, production designer on Into the Spider-Verse. (Into the Spider-Verse was helmed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman.)
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are returning as producers and writers, with David Callaham also writing the screenplay.
The movie will be followed by another sequel, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, in 2024.
Theater-owners confab CinemaCon runs through Thursday.
