Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse may have recently been pushed back to 2023, but Sony Pictures still impressed exhibitors and press with 15 minutes of footage during a CinemaCon presentation yesterday evening. It was also confirmed at the event that 2024's sequel won't simply be a "Part 2," but a movie in its own right titled Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.
According to filmmakers Chris Lord and Phil Miller, the movie takes place across six dimensions and will feature 240 characters. They also claimed that it's the biggest animated film of all time, primarily because over 1000 people are currently working to bring the epic conclusion to this trilogy to life.
io9 has shared a detailed description of the Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse footage they were fortunate enough to see, but here are some of the most noteworthy reveals:
- The movie opens on Earth-65, Gwen Stacy's world. The Vulture is attacking the Guggenheim Museum, but is Italian and decked out in armour the site says makes him look like a gladiator
- Spider-Gwen is a wanted fugitive on her world and is being hunted by her own father, Captain George Stacy
- Miguel O'Hara, a.k.a. Spider-Man 2099, arrives to help defeat the villain, confirming he's from another reality. Miguel reveals that the heroes actually broke the Multiverse in the first movie, and there's now a hole in it that's allowing people to cross between worlds
- Issa Rae plays Spider-Woman, but this Jessica Drew five months pregnant. She's working with Spider-Man 2099, and helps defeat The Vulture
- Spider-Gwen is confronted at gunpoint by her father, forcing the hero to unmask. She denies killing Peter Parker, but he decides to arrest her anyway. Luckily, Miguel arrives in the nick of time to take her to another universe
- Back in Miles Morales' reality, he's in trouble at school for missing lessons. It sounds like a fun sequence and we learn Miles wants to study alternate realities at Columbia University
So, there you have it! We can't help but read this and wish Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was still coming out this year, but we'll have to wait until June 2, 2023 to see it. As for Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, that's now been slotted in for a March 29, 2024 debut in theaters.