Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has taken Sony to new heights at the box office when it comes to the studio's animated offerings, while the sequel has been every bit as critically acclaimed as its predecessor.
However, in recent weeks, we've seen claims of a less-than-ideal working environment for those working on the movie. It's been said that up to 100 animators quit the project during production, with producer Phil Lord's quest for perfection leading to more than a few issues behind the scenes.
The gist was that the team who brought Across the Spider-Verse to our screens were overworked, though Amy Pascal's response to that was simply, "Welcome to making a movie."
This report has also led to speculation next March's Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse might be delayed. We've long suspected this could be the case, especially with cast members saying they hadn't recorded any dialogue and a certain level of coyness from the creative team during the press tour.
During an interview with ComicBook.com (via Toonado.com), Lord and Chris Miller weighed in on the chances of a release date delay.
"I would say that just like we're going to take the time necessary to make Beyond the Spider-Verse great," Lord said before Miller added, "And we won't back into a release date that doesn't fit."
So, yeah, there's no way we're seeing that movie next year.
We've already heard rumblings it could be pushed back to 2025 or even 2026, so the wait for the conclusion to Miles Morales' story promises to be quite a bit longer than we anticipated.
We're assuming the release date hasn't been officially changed in an effort to avoid bad press that has any sort of impact on box office takings. Some moviegoers, for example, may be reluctant to watch this middle chapter if they know it's going to be years before the final part follows.
For now, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse is scheduled for a March 29, 2024 release.