While we often criticise Sony Pictures for its approach to live-action Spider-Man movies such as Venom and Morbius, there's really no faulting Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The Oscar-winning animated blockbuster was a hit back in 2018, and the excitement surrounding the upcoming sequel, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, is palpable.
Empire Online recently caught up with producer Phil Lord, and learned that both the sequel, and 2024's "Part 2," will up the ante and offer more of everything we loved about the first instalment.
"The first film had one animation style that dominates the movie. This movie has six," the filmmaker explains with a laugh. "So we’re taking those tools, adding all the things we learned on The Mitchells Vs The Machines, and then growing them further to accommodate the ambition of this movie."
"Which is to wow you every time you enter a new environment, and also to make sure that the style of the movie reflect the story, and that the images are driven by feelings, as opposed to some egg-headed art project. Which it also is, by the way!"
As for the realities we can expect to visit, Lord's creative partner, Christopher Miller, teases, "The two that you saw in the teaser trailer were what’s called Earth-50101, which we’re calling ‘Mumbattan’ – that’s based on an Indian comic-book look – and Nueva York from Spider-Man 2099’s world."
"That’s based on Syd Mead-style illustrations of what the future might look like. There’s also Gwen’s world, which is Earth-65," he concludes. "And that was a watercolour-wash style that’s reminiscent of the covers of her comic books."
With these comments comes a brand new still from the movie that offers a sneak peek at one of the unique animation styles we can look forward to seeing next year. We're not 100% sure which Spidey that is, though a new trailer surely can't be too far off at this stage. When it drops, it should offer a much better idea of what to expect from this one.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse swings into theaters on June 2, 2023.