Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a 2018 American animated superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Miles Morales/Spider-Man, produced and distributed by Sony Pictures in association with Marvel Entertainment. It is the first animated film in the Spider-Man franchise.[4][5] Directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman from a screenplay by Phil Lord and Rothman, it stars Shameik Moore as Morales, alongside the voices of Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry, Lily Tomlin, Luna Lauren Vélez, John Mulaney, Kimiko Glenn, Nicolas Cage, and Liev Schreiber. The film's story follows Miles as he becomes the new Spider-Man and joins other Spider-People from various parallel universes who team up to save New York City from Kingpin.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
- Phil Lord
- Rodney Rothman
Phil Lord
- Avi Arad
- Amy Pascal
- Phil Lord
- Christopher Miller
- Christina Steinberg
Robert Fisher Jr.
- Columbia Pictures
- Marvel Entertainment
- Sony Pictures Animation
- Pascal Pictures[1]
- Arad Productions[1]
- Lord Miller Productions[1]
- December 1, 2018 (Regency Village Theater)
- December 14, 2018 (United States)
117 minutes[1]
United States
English
$90 million[2]
$384.3 million[3]
Plans for an animated Spider-Man film by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were leaked in 2014 and announced in April 2015. Persichetti, Ramsey and Rothman joined over the next two years, with Moore and Schreiber cast in April 2017. Lord and Miller wanted the film to have a unique style, combining computer animation with traditional hand-drawn comic book techniques inspired by the work of Miles Morales co-creator Sara Pichelli. The film required the largest crew of animators used by Sony Pictures Animation on a feature film.
The film premiered at the Regency Village Theater in Los Angeles on December 1, 2018, and was theatrically released in the United States on December 14. The film grossed $384.3 million worldwide against a $90 million budget and received critical acclaim. The film won Best Animated Feature at the 91st Academy Awards—being the first non-Disney/Pixar film to win the award since Rango (2011). Filmmakers and animation peers have praised its aesthetics and acknowledged its influence on subsequent animated productions. It has since been regarded as one of the best animated films of the 21st century.[6]
A sequel, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, was released in 2023 to similar critical and greater commercial success. A third film, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, and a spin-off film focused on female Spider-related characters are in development.
Plot[edit]
New York City teenager Miles Morales struggles to live up to the expectations of his father, police officer Jefferson Davis, who sees Spider-Man as a menace. Miles' uncle Aaron Davis takes him to an abandoned subway station to paint graffiti to cheer him up. There, Miles is bitten by a radioactive spider and gains abilities similar to Spider-Man. Returning to the station, he discovers a collider built by Kingpin, who hopes to access parallel universes to abduct alternate versions of his late wife and son. Spider-Man attempts to disable the collider while fighting Kingpin's enforcers, the Green Goblin and Prowler.
Green Goblin shoves Spider-Man into the collider, causing an explosion that kills the former and wounds the latter, who then gives Miles a USB flash drive designed to disable the collider, warning that the machine could destroy the city if reactivated. After watching in horror as Kingpin murders Spider-Man, Miles flees. As the city mourns Spider-Man's death, Miles tries to honor his legacy and become the new Spider-Man but inadvertently damages the drive. At Spider-Man's grave, he meets Peter B. Parker, an older and worn-down version of Spider-Man from another dimension.
The duo infiltrate Kingpin's research facility to steal data for a new flash drive. They are confronted by head scientist Olivia Octavius, who discovers that Peter will die from cellular decay if he remains in their dimension. Miles and Peter are then saved by Gwen Stacy, a Spider-Woman from another dimension. They visit Spider-Man's aunt, May Parker; she is sheltering more Spider-People who slipped into Miles' universe from other dimensions due to the collider's influence—Spider-Man Noir, Peni Parker, and Spider-Ham—who are also deteriorating. Miles offers to help the others return home but they tell him he lacks experience.
Distraught, Miles retreats to Aaron's home, where he discovers his uncle is the Prowler. He flees to May's house, where the new drive is completed by Peni; he is followed by Kingpin, Aaron, Octavius, Scorpion, and Tombstone. In the ensuing brawl, he reveals his identity to Aaron. Unwilling to kill his own nephew, Aaron attempts to spare Miles, but is fatally shot by Kingpin in retaliation and dies in Miles' arms. Miles flees just as Jefferson arrives on the scene; he mistakes the new Spider-Man as his brother's murderer. The heroes regroup with a devastated Miles. Unwilling to let Miles get killed, Peter restrains Miles with his webs for his safety and chooses to sacrifice himself by staying behind and deactivating the collider.
Jefferson arrives outside Miles' door and apologizes for his mistakes and expresses his faith in Miles, inspiring him. Miles manages to control his powers, escapes his restraints, and creates his own Spider-Man suit. He joins the other Spider-People in defeating Kingpin's enforcers, and uses the new drive to send them home. Kingpin fights Miles, attracting the attention of Jefferson. Realizing that Spider-Man is not the menace he saw him as, he encourages Miles, who throws Kingpin at the collider's kill switch, destroying it. The city is saved, Kingpin and his henchmen are arrested and Jefferson receives evidence of Kingpin's murders of Spider-Man and Aaron.
Miles embraces the responsibilities of his new life. Later, Gwen finds a way to contact Miles from her own dimension.[a] Elsewhere, Miguel O'Hara, also known as Spider-Man 2099, travels to Earth-67 and argues with its Spider-Man.[b]
In addition to the six main versions of Spider-Man present in the film, Chris Pine is featured as a 26-year-old, blond-haired blue-eyed version of Peter Parker's Spider-Man native to Miles' dimension. Though he offers to mentor Miles, he is murdered by Kingpin after the activation of the collider before he can do so. This version of Parker was intended to be "as competent a Spider-Man as possible," and combines elements from previous Spider-Man portrayals, but with slight differences to indicate that he is from a different universe than the others. According to Parker's eulogy, he was a graduate student and married to Mary Jane Parker.
Additional voices for the film include: Lake Bell as Vanessa Fisk, Kingpin's wife, Jorma Taccone as Norman Osborn / Green Goblin, a genetically enhanced mercenary working for Kingpin,[21] Marvin "Krondon" Jones III as Tombstone, Kingpin's silent and heavily armed bodyguard,[22] Joaquín Cosío as Scorpion, a Mexican cyborg with prosthetic legs and a tail,[23] and Post Malone (who contributed to the film's soundtrack) as a bystander in Brooklyn.[21][24] An archival recording of Cliff Robertson from Spider-Man 2 was used for a flashback scene involving the character Ben Parker. Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee appears in a posthumous cameo, as a character named Stan who sells a Spider-Man costume to Morales. Lord and Miller said it was important to give Lee a bigger moment in the film rather than just a passing cameo, because he was "so integral to the spirit of this movie," and the role was "extra meaningful" following Lee's death in November 2018.[10][25] Lee's character also has several brief "Easter egg" cameos throughout the film, such as when he walks over Miles and Peter B. when they are lying on the streets of New York City.[26][27][28] A young Matt Murdock from Gwen's dimension appears in an "Easter egg" cameo during Morales' final train fight scene as an alternate universe adopted son of Kingpin.[29]
Cameos during the film's post-credits include Oscar Isaac as Miguel O'Hara / Spider-Man 2099, an alternative version of Spider-Man from the Marvel 2099 imprint,[30] Greta Lee as O'Hara's AI assistant Lyla (respectively credited as "Interesting Person #1" and "Interesting Person #2"), and Jorma Taccone as the Peter Parker / Spider-Man from the 1967 TV series (replacing Paul Soles, with the character being credited as "Last Dude").[31] Donald Glover appears on a background TV screen, which is displaying a scene from the episode "Anthropology 101" of Community in which Glover's character, Troy Barnes, wears Spider-Man pajamas. This scene, a reference to an unsuccessful Twitter campaign suggesting Glover be cast in the lead role of The Amazing Spider-Man,[32] was cited by Miles Morales' creator, Brian Michael Bendis, as influencing the design and portrayal of the character.[33] Glover had previously voiced a version of Miles Morales in the Ultimate Spider-Man animated series, and played Aaron Davis in Spider-Man: Homecoming.[34]
Miles Morales's best friend and roommate Ganke Lee appears.[35][36] The character originally had a bigger role, but was rewritten due to Spider-Man: Homecoming having the similar character Ned Leeds.[37] Pixar animator Peter Sohn was cast as Ganke before the character's dialogue was cut from the final film;[38] Sohn would later voice the character in the sequel, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023).[39]
Release[edit]
Marketing[edit]
A thirty-second sizzle reel from the film was shown at a Sony Pictures Animation presentation in January 2017, revealing that the film focuses on Miles Morales. Scott Mendelson at Forbes said the footage "looked incredible [sic] stylized and resembled a cross between an Alex Ross image and a psychedelic [comic] cover," but felt the most significant element of the presentation was the confirmation of Morales, meaning "2018 will offer another comic book superhero movie featuring a hero of color, during the same year as Marvel's Black Panther."[47] A teaser trailer for the film debuted at the 2017 Comic Con Experience, and was then released online.[50] Chris Cabin at Collider felt the trailer "looks much better than it ever needed to. The style and design that is on display ... is vibrant and immediately engaging on a visual level, showing a genuine sense of personality to the production."[85] io9's Julie Muncy called the trailer's visual design "elegant" and "fresh," and highlighted the use of music by Vince Staples, which was also used for the Black Panther trailers.[86]
The official trailer for the film was released online at the start of June 2018, and was praised by Chaim Gartenberg of The Verge for its "absolutely gorgeous" art style, also highlighting Miles and Gwen's appearances.[43] For Cartoon Brew, Amid Amidi praised the trailer for focusing on drama rather than action, and for seemingly targeting "a slightly hipper, more urban, and teen-oriented crowd." He felt that animated films were usually focused on pleasing "all-ages, all-audiences," which marked this film as a "radical change for United States feature animation."[87] Dani Di Placido of Forbes praised the trailer for inspiring interest in the Spider-Man property after several different incarnations of the character had appeared in films. He said it achieved this by leaning into the comic storyline of the Spider-Verse and having multiple versions of the character in one film, and by its "beautifully rendered" visuals, that differentiated it from other major animated films. Placido said, "it's nice to see a movie just go nuts and embrace the weirdness of comic books and their eternally shapeshifting storylines."[88] The trailer generated 164 thousand conversations across social media platforms within a day of its release, and in three days had been viewed 44 million times, making the film one of Sony's most viral, alongside Sausage Party (2016).[89]
Sony released a second trailer for the film in October 2018,[51] ahead of a promotional panel at New York Comic Con where the first 35 minutes of the film were shown.[51][90] Lord and Miller explained that they chose not to show clips from throughout the film because they would lack context for the audience, so instead aired an extended sequence for the presentation, even though it had some unfinished animation and music.[90] At the time, Sony's film Venom was playing in theaters, featuring another extended clip from Into the Spider-Verse as a post-credits scene. The scene confirmed that the shared universe that Venom is part of is one of the universes connected within the "Spider-Verse" multiverse.[91]
In November 2018, Sony launched Spider-Verse Web AR Experience, a mobile augmented reality experience created by 8th Wall and Trigger to run on Amazon Web Services. Inspired by the film, the AR experience allows users to include Spider-Man in photos they take of their environment.[92] The film also received a $115 million promotional "boost" from various companies—one of the largest such campaigns for a Sony film—including the Ad Council, who included the film's characters in an anti-bullying campaign; McDonald's, with a unique Happy Meal TV spot created in the film's animation style, as well as a special "double height" Happy Meal box for Australian McDonald's locations, designed like a skyscraper that the characters can swing from; Synchrony Bank, as part of their "Save Like a Hero" campaign; Nike, who sold the Air Jordan shoes that Morales wears in the film; General Mills cereal; official toy lines from Hasbro; themed cruises with Genting Cruise Lines; a "comprehensive" social media-based campaign in China by Tencent QQ, a brand that can be seen in the film; and other technology partners eBay, Vodafone, Garmin, Adobe, and Wacom.[93]
On December 21, 2018, an unlockable costume based on the Spider-Man suit worn by the Peter Parker of Miles' universe was added to the PlayStation 4 video game Marvel's Spider-Man to promote the film. On December 29, Sony published the movie's screenplay online.[35]
Theatrical[edit]
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was released by Sony Pictures Releasing under its Columbia Pictures label on December 14, 2018.[49][94] In April 2015, Sony had made its first official announcement that an animated Spider-Man film was in development, with a release date scheduled for July 20, 2018.[5] It is the first animated Spider-Man feature film, and is independent of the timelines of other Spider-Man universe films.[5] At the end of 2015, the release date was changed to December 21, 2018, and was moved up by one week two years later.[42][44][49] Sony premiered the film at the Regency Village Theater in Los Angeles on December 1, 2018, and included tributes to Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.[4][95] The film is dedicated to the memories of the creators of Spider-Man, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, who both died in 2018.
Home media[edit]
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was released on digital download by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on February 26, 2019, with Blu-ray, Ultra HD Blu-ray, and DVD releases following on March 19.[96] All releases were accompanied by a short film featuring Spider-Ham entitled Caught in a Ham.[97] An extended cut called the Alt-Universe Cut, featuring 30 minutes of unreleased footage, including some scenes with Miles' roommate, Ganke, and a deleted cameo with Tom Cruise and James Cameron, was also featured on its home video release.[98] Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was also released in Blu-ray 3D format in several regions, outside of the United States and United Kingdom, on April 10, 2019.[99]
In the United Kingdom, it was aired on Sky Cinema Premiere in 2019. It drew 1.1 million viewers, making it the year's eighth most-watched film on pay TV channels.[100]
In April 2021, Sony signed a deal with Disney giving them access to their legacy content, including Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and its sequels, to stream on Disney+ and Hulu and appear on Disney's linear television networks. Disney's access to Sony's titles would come following their availability on Netflix. Into the Spider-Verse had previously been available on Starz and FX.[101][102] The film became available on Disney+ in the United Kingdom, Australia and Japan on June 17, 2022, and on September 9, 2022, in Ireland, Latin America and Europe.[103]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse grossed $190.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $194.0 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $384.3 million, against a production budget of $90 million.[3] On January 31, 2019, the film surpassed Hotel Transylvania 2 to become Sony Pictures Animation's highest-grossing film domestically, unadjusted for inflation.[104]
In the United States and Canada, Into the Spider-Verse was released on the same weekend as Mortal Engines and The Mule, and was projected to gross $30–35 million from 3,813 theaters in its opening weekend.[94] It made $12.6 million on its first day, including $3.5 million from Thursday night previews, and went on to debut to $35.4 million, finishing first at the box office and marking the best ever December opening for an animated film.[105] The film made $16.7 million in its second weekend, finishing fourth, behind newcomers Aquaman, Bumblebee and Mary Poppins Returns, and then $18.3 million in its third weekend, finishing fourth again.[106][107] In its fifth weekend the film made $13 million, finishing in fourth for a third straight week.[108] On March 1–3, the weekend following its Best Animated Picture win at the Academy Awards, the film was added to 1,661 theaters (for a total of 2,104) and made $2.1 million, marking a 138% increase from the week before.[109]
Critical response[edit]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 97% based on 403 reviews, with an average rating of 8.8/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse matches bold storytelling with striking animation for a purely enjoyable adventure with heart, humor, and plenty of superhero action."[110] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 87 out of 100 based on reviews from 50 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[111] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "A+" on an A+ to F scale, and those at PostTrak gave it a 90% overall positive score, an 80% "definite recommend," and a 5 star rating.[105]
David Ehrlich of IndieWire gave the film a "B+" and called it "hilarious and ultimately even poignant," writing, "An eye-popping and irreverent animated experience from the marvelous comic minds who brought you 21 Jump Street... Into the Spider-Verse is somehow both the nerdiest and most inviting superhero film in a long time; every single frame oozes with fan service."[112] Oliver Jones of The New York Observer gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars and wrote, "The greatest triumph and biggest surprise of the film is that it is an LSD freak-out on par with 2001: A Space Odyssey."[113] Johnny Oleksinski of The New York Post gave the film a 3.5 rating out of 4, hailing it as "the best stand-alone film to feature the iconic character so far," and praising Miles' characterization as "more fleshed out than the usual Marvel heroes."[114] Christy Lemire of RogerEbert.com praised the film's atmosphere and visual effects, adding that it "has a wonderfully trippy, dreamlike quality about it."[115] Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "the freshest and most stimulating aspect of the film is the visual style, which unites the expected Marvel mix of 'universes' (it used to be assumed there was only one universe in creation) with animation that looks both computer-driven and hand-drawn, boasts futuristic as well as funky urban elements, moves the 'camera' a lot and brings together a melting pot of mostly amusing new characters."[116]
William Bibbiani of The Wrap felt the film "represents some of the best superhero storytelling on the market," and that it "captures the sprawling interconnectivity of comic-book universes in a way that no other feature film has," calling it the best Spider-Man film since Spider-Man 2.[117] Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times said that "What distinguishes Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse in the end is that it takes its mission seriously, even when it's being transparently silly."[118] David Sims of The Atlantic said that the film "somehow, through sheer creative gumption, does something new in the superhero genre," particularly praising the use of comic book's "visual language" as well as the characters' dynamic, and felt that the "anarchic fingerprints" of producers Lord and Miller were "all over the movie."[119] Katie Walsh of Tribune News Service said that the film is "unlike any other superhero or animated film that has come before," comparing the animation to "watching a comic book come to life," and feeling that the film "firmly exists in a post-Deadpool environment, where it seems the only fresh way into a century-old superhero is to skewer the tropes, make fun of the merchandising and acknowledge the cultural significance of it all in a cheeky and self-reflective manner." She added that Lord, who wrote the story and co-wrote the screenplay, was "the key to the balance of self-aware and sweet" present in the film.[120]
Industry response and legacy[edit]
Actor Tom Holland, who plays Peter Parker / Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, praised Into the Spider-Verse as "one of the coolest films [he has] ever seen,"[121] and he would later reiterate his statement on the film in 2023, calling it "the best Spider-Man movie that's ever been made."[122] Chris Pratt, who worked with Lord and Miller on The Lego Movie films, described it as an "emotionally moving, cutting edge, progressive, diverse, funny, meta, action-packed, silly, visually stunning masterpiece!"[123] Comedian and actor Patton Oswalt, who worked with Lord and Miller on 22 Jump Street (2014) and appeared on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013–2020), called the film "brilliant," and continued, "This has been a non-stop year for me and I'm glad I'm ending it in such a cinematic high-note. Not only is it the best superhero film ever made, it's flat-out a game-changing MOVIE. Seeing it again tomorrow!"[124] Kevin Smith reviewed the film on his podcast Fatman Beyond, stating, "I always liked Spider-Man but this movie made me love Spider-Man on a Batman-type level," and continued, "It just goes to show you that any character in the right hands can be a transformative experience."[125] Barry Jenkins, writer and director of the Academy Award-winning film Moonlight (2016, which also starred Ali), praised the film, calling it "magnificent" and citing it as the best Spider-Man film, one of the best films of 2018, and the best tentpole film since Edge of Tomorrow (2014). Jenkins continued, saying, "I was stupefied. I mean just tremendous, tremendous work, so grounded and full of verve; visceral. Saw it on the biggest screen I could find, just a viscerally enthralling experience. I salute you."[126] Rian Johnson, writer and director of Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), described the film as "the Velvet Underground of superhero movies", believing it will be an influential film.[127][128] James Gunn, writer and director of Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), has named Into the Spider-Verse his favorite superhero film.[129] Marvel Studios president and MCU producer Kevin Feige said that he "loved it."[130] Many other filmmakers including Edgar Wright, Guillermo del Toro, Yance Ford, and RaMell Ross have listed the film as one of their favorites of 2018.[131]
The film's success influenced other projects using a mixed 2D and CGI animation style.[132] The animation techniques created for Into the Spider-Verse were notably reused for The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021), another Sony Pictures Animation film that Lord and Miller co-produced,[133][134] and similarly influenced the animation style for DreamWorks Animation's The Bad Guys and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (both 2022).[132][135][136] Directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah said Spider-Verse inspired them to create the hand-drawn style of visual effects for the live-action MCU series Ms. Marvel (2022).[137] Mitchells co-director Jeff Rowe also cited the film as a major influence for his directorial debut Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, claiming that it "showed that a movie can look like the concept artwork and can be critically and financially successful. That opened a lot of doors and I think we tried to take that football and run with it on 'Mitchells,' and then on 'Turtles.'"[138] The film was similarly cited as an inspiration for the animation of the Marvel/Disney series Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur and Netflix Special Entergalactic.[139][140]
During a special lecture at Takarazuka University, anime director Yoshiyuki Tomino commented on the film's Best Animated Feature win at the Academy Awards:
"At first glance, it looks like a live-action film, and it's very experimental in various places. For American filmgoers, it may be their first time watching an animated film that isn't expressly for kids. I won't appraise the film's quality, but on a technical level, I can see how much hard work the staff put into it." He also expressed a belief that the anime industry should strive to surpass Into the Spider-Verse and other high-profile American animated features.[141]
Director Kemp Powers, who would later co-direct the sequel Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023), watched an early cut of the movie with the crew of Pixar's Soul (2020) and said that despite Pixar being "a tough crowd" when judging animation, they were quickly impressed and agreed that the movie would revolutionize the medium.[142]
Kambole Campbell of the BBC praised called it and Across the Spider-Verse as "the greatest comic book movies ever made",[143] and IndieWire listed it as the 4th greatest animated films of the 21st century.[6]
