On December 17, Sony Pictures announced that Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse has found its directors in Bob Persichetti and Justin K. Thompson. And yes, that news came our way nine months after the threequel was meant to swing into theaters.
Persichetti was part of the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse directing team and executive produced Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Thompson, meanwhile, was a production designer on the first movie and graduated to the directing team on the sequel alongside Joaquim Dos Santos and Kemp Powers.
Executive producer and writer Chris Miller later explained that the duo had been attached to the movie from the start, though the late announcement did little to ease the minds of fans concerned over just how long it will take to get Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse into theaters.
Today, we have another disappointing update from Miles G. Morales voice actor Jharrel Jerome. Talking to Decider, he was asked whether he's begun production on the threequel and replied, "No, I wish. We haven’t started up yet. A lot of things being figured out, but good things."
Original plans called for Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse to be released last year but the movie remains undated. 2025 is surely off the table now and based on this and other updates, even 2026 seems a tad optimistic. 2023's Hollywood strikes would have done nothing to speed up the production process either, of course.
"It’s [been] a dream since I was a child to just be a part of that world in any way," Jerome said last year of being cast as Earth-42's Prowler. "Miles Morales is a specific, character as a Dominican from New York, that I've always dreamed of embodying and portraying."
"So just to even play the voice in the world that they're creating is so incredible because what it's doing for my people and our people back in New York - Dominicans, Puerto Ricans - it's really shifting the culture for us in the mainstream in terms of animation and the superhero genre. For me to be a part of it is an honor."
There were once rumblings about a female-led spin-off revolving around characters like Spider-Woman and Spider-Gwen. Work on that has also likely stalled as Sony looks to prioritise getting Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse into theaters.
While it's not a bad thing for Sony to take its time with this movie to ensure the trilogy ends on the best note possible, we've no doubt many of you will remember the issues Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse reportedly faced behind the scenes (if not, you can read more about that here).
Still, we'd imagine Hailee Steinfeld will be glad to avoid that press tour with Shameik Moore for as long as possible!
Keep checking back here for updates on Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse as we have them.