Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a 2018 American computer-animated superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Miles Morales / Spider-Man, produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation in association with Marvel, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film's story follows Miles Morales as he becomes the new Spider-Man and joins other Spider-People from various parallel universes to save his universe from Kingpin.
The film was released in the United States on December 14, 2018.
Plot[]
Miles Morales is a teenager who admires Spider-Man, and struggles living up to the expectations of his parents. His father, police officer Jefferson Davis, sees Spider-Man as a menace. After school Miles secretly visits his uncle Aaron Davis, who brings Miles to a disused subway station where he can paint graffiti. While there, Miles is bitten by a radioactive spider and develops spider-like abilities.
Searching for the spider, Miles later returns to the station and finds a collider built by Wilson Fisk, who wishes to access parallel universes and find alternative versions of his wife and son who died in a car crash. Spider-Man arrives to disable the collider and fights Fisk's enforcers, Green Goblin and Prowler. Spider-Man discovers that Miles has similar abilities, but is gravely wounded by an explosion during the battle which kills Green Goblin. Spider-Man gives Miles a USB drive to disable the collider and warns that the machine could destroy the city if turned on again. Miles then watches Fisk kill Spider-Man before fleeing.
While attempting to master his new abilities, Miles inadvertently damages the USB drive. At Spider-Man's grave, Miles meets Peter B. Parker, an older and jaded version of Spider-Man from another dimension. Peter has been brought into Miles's dimension by the collider and needs to return home, so he begrudgingly agrees to train Miles in exchange for help stealing data to create a new drive. While breaking into Kingpin's research facility, they are confronted by Fisk's chief scientist Olivia Octavius, who reveals that Peter will eventually deteriorate and die the longer he stays in their dimension. Miles and Peter are then rescued by Gwen Stacy, another dimension-displaced heroine. Gwen leads Peter and Miles to May Parker, who is sheltering Spider-Man Noir, Spider-Ham, and Peni Parker and SP//dr, who also are deteriorating. Miles offers to disable the collider to send the other Spider-People home.
The Spider-People attempt to teach Miles how to control his powers, but Miles becomes overwhelmed and retreats to Aaron's home, where he discovers that Aaron is Prowler. Miles returns to May's house, where Peni has completed the drive; however, he is followed by Fisk, Prowler, Octavius, Scorpion and Tombstone, leading to a brawl. Miles flees May's house during the battle but is captured by Prowler, who prepares to kill him. Miles unmasks himself, causing Aaron to realize he has been hunting his own nephew. Aaron decides not to kill Miles, so Fisk shoots and kills Aaron.
As the Spider-People prepare to face Fisk, Peter restrains Miles in the latter's dorm and leaves him behind for his own safety, deciding to sacrifice himself by taking Miles's place in deactivating the collider. Jefferson arrives outside Miles's door to tell him about Aaron's death and, assuming Miles does not want to speak to him, apologizes for his mistakes. Finally controlling his powers, Miles joins the other Spider-People and helps them defeat Fisk's enforcers before activating the USB drive and sending all the Spider-People back home. Fisk and Miles fight throughout the collider, attracting Jefferson's attention. Jefferson realizes that Spider-Man is not the enemy and encourages him, giving Miles the motivation to defeat Fisk, destroying the collider. The authorities arrest Fisk and his enforcers, Jefferson recognizes Spider-Man as a hero and Miles embraces the responsibilities of his new life. Later, Gwen finds a way to contact Miles across dimensions.
In another dimension, Miguel O'Hara's assistant Lyla informs him of the crisis and gives him dimension-hopping technology. He decides to "go back to the beginning", and ends up arguing with that universe's Spider-Man.
Cast[]
- Shameik Moore as Miles Morales / Spider-Man
- Jake Johnson as Peter B. Parker / Spider-Man
- Hailee Steinfeld as Gwendolyn Stacy / Spider-Woman
- Mahershala Ali as Aaron Davis / Prowler
- Brian Tyree Henry as Jefferson Davis
- Lily Tomlin as May Parker
- Luna Lauren Velez as Rio Morales
- Zoë Kravitz as Mary Jane
- John Mulaney as Peter Porker / Spider-Ham
- Kimiko Glenn as Peni Parker / SP//dr
- Nicolas Cage as Peter Parker / Spider-Man Noir
- Kathryn Hahn as Olivia Octavius / Doctor Octopus
- Liev Schreiber as Wilson Fisk / Kingpin
- Chris Pine as Peter Parker / Spider-Man
- Natalie Morales as Miss Calleros
- Edwin H. Bravo as Brooklyn Visions Security Guard
- Stan Lee as Stan
- Jorma Taccone as Green Goblin, Last Dude/Spider-Man (Earth-67)
- Joaquín Cosío as Scorpion
- Marvin Jones III as Tombstone
- Kim Yarbrough as Scientist In Cafeteria
- Lake Bell as Vanessa Fisk
- Jessia Mikayla Adams, Gredel Berrios-Calladine, Sarah D. Cole, Kelby Alex Joseph as Brooklyn Friends
- Mimi Davila as Brooklyn Visions Student
- Claudia Choi, Melanie Haynes, Joseph Izzo, Nick Jaine, Muneeb Rehman, Carlos Zaragoza as Brooklyn Visions Teachers
- Post Malone as Brooklyn Bystander
- Oscar Isaac as Interesting Person #1
- Greta Lee as Interesting Person #2
- Andy Leviton as Police Officer (Earth-67)
- Adam Brown as J. Jonah Jameson (Earth-67)
Additional Voices[]
- David Applebee
- Juan Carlos Arvelo
- Adam Brown
- Jon Bruno
- Darcy Rose Byrnes
- Oscar Camacho
- June Christopher
- Alycia L. Cooper
- Michelle Jubilee Gonzalez
- Terrence Hardy Jr.
- Bridget Hoffman
- Rif Hutton
- Miguel B. Jiron
- Harrison Knight
- Lex Lang
- Donna Lynn Leavy
- Andrew Leviton
- Caitlin McKenna
- Scott Menville
- Christopher Miller
- Arthur Ortiz
- Juan Pacheco
- Devika Parikh
- Shakira Ja'nai Paye
- Courtney Peldon
- Chrystee Pharris
- Jacqueline Piñol
- Juan Pope
- Al Rodrigo
- Joseph Sanfelippo
- Justin Shenkarow
- Dennis Singletary
- Warren Sroka
- Melissa Sturm
- Holly Walker
- Jason Linere White
- Ruby Zalduondo
- Ruth Zalduondo
Production[]
Following the November 2014 hacking of Sony Pictures' computers, Sony was revealed to have been trying to develop an animated comedy Spider-Man film with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. On April 22, 2015, Sony announced that the Spider-Man animated feature film would be produced and written by Lord and Miller with Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach and Amy Pascal attached as the producers. The animated film would be independent of all the ongoing live-action films in the Spider-Man universe.
In June 2016, Sony Pictures Animation hired the Puss in Boots and The Little Prince's head of story Bob Persichetti to direct the animated film.
In January 2017, it was announced that the film would feature the Miles Morales version of Spider-Man, and it was revealed that Peter Ramsey would be the co-director. Alex Hirsch was confirmed to be contributing the story for the animated film. The following April, Shameik Moore was cast to provide the voice of Miles Morales, while Liev Schreiber would voice the movie's villain. In June 2017, Mahershala Ali and Brian Tyree Henry joined the voice cast.
In April 2018, it was announced that Jake Johnson has joined the voice cast in the role of adult Peter Parker / Spider-Man.
In July 2018, Nicolas Cage joined the voice cast as he was revealed to play Spider-Man Noir.
Release[]
The film was released by Columbia Pictures on December 14, 2018. It was previously scheduled to be released on July 20, 2018. In December 2015 the film's release date was then pushed back to December 21, 2018.
Home media[]
- Main article: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (video)
Reception[]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 97% based on 403 reviews, with an average rating of 8.8/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse matches bold storytelling with striking animation for a purely enjoyable adventure with heart, humor, and plenty of superhero action." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 87 out of 100 based on reviews from 50 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a rare grade of "A+" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it a 90% overall positive score and an 80% "definite recommend", as well as a 5 star rating.
David Ehrlich of IndieWire gave the film a "B+" and called it "hilarious and ultimately even poignant", writing: "An eye-popping and irreverent animated experience from the marvelous comic minds who brought you 21 Jump Street... Into the Spider-Verse is somehow both the nerdiest and most inviting superhero film in a long time; every single frame oozes with fan service..." Oliver Jones of The New York Observer gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars and wrote, "The greatest triumph and biggest surprise of the film is that it is an LSD freak-out on par with 2001: A Space Odyssey." Johnny Oleksinski of The New York Post gave the film a 3.5 rating out of 4, hailing the film as "the best stand-alone film to feature the iconic character so far", and praising Miles's characterization as "more fleshed out than the usual Marvel heroes". Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that "...the freshest and most stimulating aspect of the film is the visual style, which unites the expected Marvel mix of 'universes' (it used to be assumed there was only one universe in creation) with animation that looks both computer-driven and hand-drawn, boasts futuristic as well as funky urban elements, moves the 'camera' a lot and brings together a melting pot of mostly amusing new characters."
William Bibbiani of The Wrap felt the film "represents some of the best superhero storytelling on the market", and that it "captures the sprawling interconnectivity of comic-book universes in a way that no other feature film has", calling it the best Spider-Man film since Spider-Man 2. Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times said that "What distinguishes Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse in the end is that it takes its mission seriously, even when it's being transparently silly". David Sims of The Atlantic said that the film "somehow, through sheer creative gumption, does something new in the superhero genre", particulary praising the use of comic book's "visual language", as well as the characters' dynamic, and felt that the "anarchic fingerprints" of producers Lord and Miller were "all over the movie". Katie Walsh of Tribune News Service said that the film is "unlike any other superhero or animated film that has come before", comparing the animation to "watching a comic book come to life", and feeling that the film "firmly exists in a post-Deadpool environment, where it seems the only fresh way into a century-old superhero is to skewer the tropes, make fun of the merchandising and acknowledge the cultural significance of it all in a cheeky and self-reflective manner", and that Lord, who wrote the story and co-wrote the screenplay, was "The key to the balance of self-aware and sweet" present in the film.
Sequel[]
In August 2018, the directors were still focused on completing the film but acknowledged that the introduction of the Spider-Verse in the film could create the potential for many different stories to be told depending on the success of this film. By the end of November, Sony put a sequel and a spin-off from the film in development due to the "incredible buzz" surrounding it. Joaquim Dos Santos and David Callaham are set to respectively direct and write the sequel, which will continue Miles Morales's story. In addition to Lord and Miller returning in some capacity, the sequel will feature Takuya Yamashiro, the main character of the Japanese Spider-Man series. Sony announced that the sequel would be released on April 8, 2022, but the release date was later delayed by six months to October 7 and again to June 2, 2023.
Trivia[]
- Some scenes in this film pay homage to the live-action Spider-Man films starring Tobey Maguire.
- This is the first animated Sony Pictures Animation film to use the Columbia Pictures logo since The Emoji Movie in 2017, as the previous film to use it, Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween, was live-action.
- This is the first Spider-Man film to be rated PG by the MPAA and also the second theatrically-released Marvel film in general to be designated that rating after the live-action sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.
- This film has its own line of Funko Pops.[1]
- Two scenes from this film were included as a post-credits scene at the end of 2018's live-action film Venom.
- This film introduces a new Sony Pictures Animation logo, where it starts with a close up of a triangle in white then glitches to see the text "SONY PICTURES ANIMATION" in an angular font in black then it lights up to blue and glitches more then the logo gets close up and zooms back to make room for the new Pascal Pictures logo also glitching to different animation and changing to "PICTURES PASCAL" then turns back to normal.
- With a runtime of 116 minutes, it was the longest Sony Pictures Animation film until Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which is now the studio's longest film with a runtime of 140 minutes.
- This is the first Sony Pictures Animation film to win an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature; the two previous films Surf's Up and The Pirates! Band of Misfits were nominated in that category, but lost to the two Disney/Pixar films Ratatouille and Brave.
- This film marks the second multiverse film in general after the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles television film Turtles Forever.
- With 11 minutes of end credits (including a post-credits scene), this film currently holds the third longest running time of end credits after Disney's Ralph Breaks the Internet and Warner Bros' The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part.
- Ben Parker's "With great power comes great responsibility" line in Peter's monologue was archival recording of Cliff Roberson's voice from Spider-Man 2.
- This film serves as a posthumous and the final performance of Stan Lee, who died from cardiac arrest with respiratory failure and congestive heart failure on November 12, 2018, one month before his 96th birthday.
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