SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE Directors Reveal Just How Late Donald Glover's Prowler Cameo Was Added

SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE Directors Reveal Just How Late Donald Glover's Prowler Cameo Was Added

Changes were being made to Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse were still being made mere weeks before it swung into theaters, and that included Donald Glover's surprise live-action cameo as Prowler...

By JoshWilding - Feb 27, 2024 07:02 AM EST
Filed Under: Into The Spider-Verse
Source: Toonado.com

Since Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was released last summer, it's become apparent that it was not an easy movie to make. Like its predecessor, 2018's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, it's a visual masterpiece featuring the sort of eye-popping moments which are unprecedented in the animation realm. 

Changes were being made six weeks before the sequel swung into theaters and, in an interview with Collider (via Toonado.com), directors Justin K. Thompson, Kemp Powers, and Joaquim Dos Santos, confirmed Donald Glover's Prowler cameo was among them. 

"There were several things in those previews that we hadn't really sorted out yet, like you guys probably remember the Donald Glover cameo - he hadn't agreed to do it yet," Powers reveals. "So in the preview, we had, like, a South Park-style cardboard cutout of Donald Glover. He was like, 'Hi, I'm Donald Glover,' and he was just like a flappy head, and everyone was cracking up."

"I'm like, 'Is anyone gonna call Donald Glover and see if he's gonna do this cameo?' We recorded him just a few weeks before the film came out, so it was kind of crazy because it was like, the film still wasn't quite all there, but it was there. That was a story we knew we were trying to tell, so I started feeling pretty good about it then."

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse featured other live-action cameos, though those made use of archival footage from movies like Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man, and Venom: Let There Be Carnage (Mrs. Chen's cameo was recycled from a deleted scene).

Sony's plan to bring Spider-Man 2099 into the Spider-Verse was first made clear in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse's post-credits scene. However, the filmmakers shared their surprise at the response to Miguel O'Hara, particularly regarding his so-called "thirst trap" status. 

Here's the full exchange between Thompson and Dos Santos when they were asked what the biggest shock in terms of fan reaction was:

Dos Santos: Miguel's butt. [Laughs]

Thompson: I’ve got to push back on that. I actually feel a little offended because I put myself in charge of making Miguel the thirst trap.

Dos Santos: That is true.

Thompson: From day one, I said, “I'm on butt duty. I wanna make sure his butt is as tight as possible. I want close-ups. I wanna get the camera there, and I want him to turn. I want his back to the camera when we first introduce him, so you can really appreciate it.” So, no, I was not surprised.

Dos Santos: Alright, well, you took it in stride, but I was very surprised.

Thompson: I was surprised by how far it went, though.

Dos Santos: I will say, we did struggle with having a character as physically robust as Miguel. That was a thing because I think Phil [Lord], especially, has sort of an aversion to, like, overly muscular characters. We were like, “This Spider-Person is different. He's not like the gymnast, he's like the bodybuilder. He's got to be big.”

Thompson: I think Phil must have been picked on by bodybuilders at some point because, like, we had to convince him it's okay for him to have muscles.

Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse is currently undated after originally being set for a March 2024 release. Miguel may be considered a hottie in the eyes of some, but he's also emerged as the franchise's main antagonist as Miles Morales sets out to save his father's life. 

As for Glover, the hope among fans is that he might play Prowler in a future Spider-Man movie produced by Marvel Studios and set in the MCU.

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Matchesz
Matchesz - 2/27/2024, 7:58 AM
everything MCU is decided last minute so this at least follows canon
Forthas
Forthas - 2/27/2024, 8:10 AM
My pick for a live action Miles Morales...

Dallas Dupree Young
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 2/27/2024, 8:48 AM
@Forthas - Great choice sir. He even resembles the look of Miles from the animated films.
Forthas
Forthas - 2/27/2024, 9:06 AM
@lazlodaytona - Thanks!
Evansly
Evansly - 2/27/2024, 3:57 PM
@Forthas - This is fantastic! If the rumors are true that they are introducing Miles in the next film he certain fits that age.

I'm not against them waiting a few movies and using someone younger though that'll age into it
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 2/27/2024, 8:51 AM
When this sucker first came out, all I read was how great the movie was. It feels like the past few weeks there's been some negativity towards the film. I wonder why...
Scarilian
Scarilian - 2/27/2024, 9:24 AM
@lazlodaytona -
The first was more polished, it had a clear idea and execution, telling a complete story.

The second one was a mess of ideas - primarily combining a scraped Gwen Stacy Solo movie with a scraped All-Female Spider-man movie and two different versions of Miles storyline they wanted to tell (One grounded with Spot, the other focused on the multiverse with Miguel). It's handled in a way that it is incomplete and it's unlikely to have a strong resolution when we get to the third.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 2/27/2024, 12:07 PM
@lazlodaytona - Oscar race. People want the latest Miyazaki movie to win.

I still think ATSV is literally the cinematic avante garde of this current time. Even moreso than all the Best Picture runners this year, but that's just my opinion and hey, who knows I might be completely mad and wrong for having it.
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 2/27/2024, 3:01 PM
@Scarilian -


Scarilian
Scarilian - 2/27/2024, 9:20 AM
I think Spiderverse 2 would have been better if the entire Spider Society aspect was cut. This segment just felt like shoving in cameos for the sake of it. Especially when the story touches on the live action or non-animated cameos such as the Lego universe, Sony Universe or shoving in a live-action Prowler. It just clashes too heavily with the Spider-verse style.

I have massive concerns over the third film, I don't think there's any chance it ends up being good because they've written themselves into a wall. There's nowhere they can go that would be satisfying and full-fill all the set-up. The second film two primary villains and we honestly don't have enough development of them and we're already setting up another.
RedSheep
RedSheep - 2/27/2024, 4:50 PM
Misread the headline and thought Donald Glover died.

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