Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse will be followed up by Beyond the Spider-Verse.
Miles Morales returns for the next chapter of the Oscar-winning Spider-Verse saga. Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, and Jake Johnson all return to voice their counterparts from the first film. With the Spider-Verse expanding, more characters are being added, such as Spider-Woman, Spider-Man 2099, and Spider-Punk, voiced by Issa Rae, Oscar Isaac, and Daniel Kaluu. This movie will hit theaters on June 2nd, 2023.
Synopsis
After reuniting with Gwen Stacy, Brooklyn’s full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man enters the Multiverse, where he encounters a team of Spider-People charged with protecting its very existence. But when the heroes clash on handling a new threat, Miles is up against the other Spiders and must redefine what it means to be a hero to save the people he loves most.
This movie tackles the ramifications of the first movie, with Miles truly learning why and how he became Spider-Man. This film delivers an epic adventure, transporting you into multiple psychedelic and exhilarating worlds. This is the first time an animated franchise has been presented like this, delivering a cinematic experience. This franchise pulls from comics, live-action movies, cartoons, and video games. Everyone is present no matter how you were first introduced to the webhead.
The story is bigger and better than the first film.
This is no surprise, as this franchise has been creating a saga. The first movie was planting the seeds of what is to come with the upcoming films. What excited me most about this movie is the villain of the movie, The Spot. He is absolutely one of my favorites and is completely underrated. His powers are really impressive and can be extremely powerful and dangerous. Voiced brilliantly by Jason Schwartzman, the spot is such a fun and worthy adversary. Spider-Man 2099, aka Miguel O’Hara, also takes center stage, as we saw him teased in the previous movie. Isaac delivers such an outstanding performance giving the character the gravitas to come off as an antihero at times.
Visually the movie goes beyond what the last installment did, providing several different art styles. Despite really appreciating this decision, it can be disorienting, and I strongly suggest not watching this film if you are prone to seizures. I wonder if this franchise can withstand this radical art style for long. At some point, I would love to see these films revert to a single art style with a little more polished look. The story is powerful and emotional, with lots at risk. However, it would be nice not to be distracted while taking it all in.
The runtime is also exceptionally long.
This movie pauses the action multiple times to carve out the plot further and rehash origin stories. This film sits 36 minutes longer than the last installment and is a Part One film. For comparison, No Way Home is only 14 minutes longer. Regardless, this film has something for all types of Spidey fans and is the ultimate multiverse movie to date, as it does a better job explaining how it all works more cohesively than any MCU movie that has come before it.
Verdict
I give Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse 4 out of 5 stars. It is the most ambitious superhero movie ever to grace the big screen, and I am already looking forward to seeing the next installment releasing in theaters on March 29, 2024. Read more Reviews on Nerdtropolis and Subscribe to our YouTube.
Sean Tajipour
Sean Tajipour is the Founder and Editor of Nerdtropolis and the host of the Moviegoers Society Podcast. He is also a member of the Critics Choice Association. You can follow on Twitter and Instagram @Seantaj.