When Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse arrived in theatres three years ago, it shattered expectations of what superhero movies, both live action and animated, could be. The follow up to Miles Morales’ big-screen debut was always going to be a big deal after the success of the first film, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse looks like it’ll be catapulting off the character’s recent momentum both from the film and last year’s excellent game in some interesting ways.
Seemingly picking up immediately after the end of the first film, Miles (Shameik Moore) is relaxing at home when he’s visited by Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) looking to hang out. While Miles is grounded, Spider-Man very much isn’t, and he can’t pass up the opportunity to hang with a friend from another universe he never thought he’d see again.
Now experiencing multiversal travel for the first time, it’s understandable how Miles would freak out like a costumed pinball. But just as he’s getting used to the sensation of swinging through another universe (and in a different animation style befitting the reality), he’s attacked by a Spider: Miguel O’Hara, the Spider-Man of 2099 (Oscar Isaac). After showing up in the credits of the last movie, he makes a pretty explosive entrance here by trying to wrangle Miles as they tumble from reality to reality. We know that he won’t be the only Spider-hero around: Spider-Woman, aka Jessica Drew (Issa Rae) is expected to show up at some point during the two-part adventure.
Oh, that’s the other big thing about Across the Spider-Verse. It’s the first half of a larger story, and Part Two will arrive in the near future. But first, we have to get Across the Spider-Verse (Part One), and that’ll be on September 29, 2022.