Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse creators on repeating success of Into the Spider-Verse by making it ‘new’, and why it ‘isn’t a superhero film’
- An Oscar win and high Rotten Tomatoes score for 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse gave the 2023 sequel a lot to live up to. Being ‘original’ wasn’t enough
- Makers of Across the Spider-Verse talk about creating an ‘intimate’ film about happiness and relationships versus obligation, and why Miles Morales is ‘special’
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse earned a 97 per cent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, grossed more than four times its budget and won the Academy Award for animated feature.
So, of course, when it came to making the sequel, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse writers and producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller made their mantra what every studio simply loves to hear, expressed by the film’s first line: “Let’s do things differently this time.”
Miller says: “The first movie was appreciated for its innovations – among other things – how it was something you’d never seen before; a story told in a way that you had never seen before. So we felt if we’re going to do a sequel, if we just do more of the same, it’s going to be disappointing.”
But how to accomplish that, while keeping hold of the essential thread that runs through the best Spider-adventures?
Co-director Kemp Powers says: “When Phil and Chris first pitched me the story, it didn’t feel like they were pitching me a sequel.
“It felt completely original, starring some characters that I was familiar with. The arc of the characters, where they were going; it was a new thing, from my perspective.”
