It turns out that at some point in the development process for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Jess Drew’s Spider-Woman was almost an entirely different race.
One of the standout new additions to the Spider-Verse was Issa Rae’s Jessica Drew, who Gwen Stacy met in the opening minutes of the sequel.
Not only was she badass, and rode a motorcycle, but she was pregnant on top of it all. This take on Spider-Woman hails from the character’s 2015 comic run by author Dennis Hopeless.
In the original comics, Drew is actually Caucasian. For Spider-Verse 2, the creatives obviously chose to switch it up—however, it turns out, that a third racial possibility was thrown around.
Spider-Woman Was Originally Another Race
Concept artist Mauro Belfiore shared new illustrations from his work on Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse that revealed the studio originally considered another race for Jess Drew’s Spider-Woman.
In the newly released images, it seems that Sony also made the character Asian, instead of what audiences got—or Caucasian, as her comics counterpart is.
The concept artist noted that his task at the time was “to explore faces, hairstyles and attitude of the character:”
“Jessica Drew explorations for [‘Across the Spider-Verse’]. My task at that time was to explore faces, hairstyles and attitude of the character. Costume design here is based on Kristafer Anka work that was selected by directors at that time.”
In the end, the creatives chose to make Jess Drew African American, casting Issa Rae in the role. The character also ended up sporting a stunning afro and comic-accurate shades.
A fun art piece shows Gwen Stacy trailing Jess Drew as she drives down the side of a building.
The artist also explored alternate clothing for the hero. It also seems her mentor dynamic with Gwen was always part of the picture.
The designers went through multiple variations of the eye-catching hairstyle that Jess would sport throughout the film.
It seems that a majority of the time, a version of an afro won out.
The Rise of Spider-Woman
Given the very concept of the Spider-Verse, the creatives behind the movie could pretty much do whatever they wanted when it came to character designs. So, while the Jess Drew audiences got doesn’t perfectly line up with her comic counterpart, that version is still out there in the Multiverse somewhere—as is the Asian Drew who didn’t make the cut.
Next year, the popularity of Spider-Woman is bound to go up even more, with Sony Pictures releasing Madame Web. The Spider-Man spin-off reportedly includes a handful of superheroines who’ve held the title in the past—though it doesn’t seem like Jessica Drew will be included.
Currently, it’s rumored that Olivia Wilde’s mystery Marvel film will focus on Drew—though, who knows if it’ll ever get off the ground. The last audiences heard about it, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed the filmmaker “is still attached to direct a Marvel feature for Sony,” stopping just shy of confirming who the project is about.
Across the Spider-Verse is now playing in theaters worldwide.
