The moment that reviews started rolling in for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, audiences realized they were in for something very special. It wasn’t just that the reactions were positive, including a perfect 5-star grade from our own Eric Eisenberg. It was the fact that critics were calling Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse a masterpiece, and unlike anything else that has been done in animation up to this point. Co-creators Phil Lord and Chris Miller even had to address comparisons that were being made to Empire Strikes Back, considered by many to be the best Star Wars movie in the franchise. Where is the series supposed to go after such raves?
Well, if you are the creative team behind the Spider-Verse movies so far, you immediately start getting ready for the third and reportedly final installment in the trilogy centered on Miles Morales (Shameik Moore). Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse was announced at CinemaCon back in 2022, when Sony confirmed that Across the Spider-Verse would be part one of a two-part story. If you have seen Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, you know that there’s still plenty of story to tell when it comes to Miles, Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld), Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson), Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Isaac) and the major players of the Multiverse. But, when will the story continue?
Let’s break down everything we know so far about Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse.
What Is The Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse Release Date?
When Sony revealed that the sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was going to be a two-parter, they circled March 29, 2024 as a release date. Since then, the movie has been delayed. There are several reason why Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse has shifted off of its original release date. Some can blame the writers' strike, which created production snafus. But also, animation takes a very long time. Speaking with Digital Spy about Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse's release date, Lord and Miller said:
Those conversations are thankfully above our paygrade, but I can tell you we're already hard at work on it, and we'll take the time it takes to make it great.
That March 2024 release date already was going to create some issues when it came to competition. An Untitled Universal Event Movie had been penciled in for the same date. And Lionsgate has the Mark Wahlberg film Arthur the King down for that weekend, per our Upcoming 2024 Movie Releases guide.
It bears repeating, though, that animation (on the level of the Spider-Verse movies) takes an enormous amount of time. Production on Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse took five years to complete. The same team is going to have a worthy sequel in theaters less than one year after Across plays to crowds? Get out of here. Give the final installment in this trilogy all of the time that the creative team needs.
Beyond The Spider-Verse Follows Some Major Cliffhangers
This section contains some plot information about Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse. Read on at your own risk!
Spider-Man fans should think of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse as the middle chapter of a trilogy. This is a big part of the reason why the creative team behind the movie addressed comparisons to Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back once Across the Spider-Verse came out. Much like that famous Star Wars sequel, Across the Spider-Verse was darker and more mature than its immediate predecessor. And it ended on a cliffhanger that left the main hero in a devastating emotional spot. (No pun intended on the use of the term Spot.)
Because of how Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ended, we know that Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse will have to deal with Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) being stranded on Earth-42, a dark dimension where the spider that bit Miles was supposed to be. Yet, because the spider ended up in Miles’s universe, NO ONE got bit on Earth-42, meaning there is no Spider-Man. The brief looks we got of that universe made it look crime-ridden and destroyed. And then came the biggest reveal of them all… Miles Morales on Earth-42 didn’t become Spidey. He became The Prowler.
Shamiek Moore and Other Cast Members Are Expected To Return
More spoilers ahead if you haven't seen Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse!
As of this moment, Shameik Moore is the only confirmed cast member on IMDB for Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse. But we can use deductive reasoning to assume that Hailee Steinfeld and Jake Johnson absolutely will be returning as Gwen Stacy and Peter B. Parker. In the closing moments of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Gwen is putting together a new team to go rescue Miles from Earth-42 (and save Jefferson Davis from The Spot). The first person she portals over to recruit is Peter B., who is putting his daughter Mayday to bed. But we know he’ll agree to the mission… and they won’t be alone.
Several Spider people from Into the Spider-Verse were also part of Gwen’s new team. We saw Spider-Noir and Spider-Ham, meaning there’s a very good chance that Nic Cage and John Mulaney will return to voice those characters in Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. Jason Schwartzman undoubtedly will be back to finish off his journey as The Spot, who only grew more powerful over the course of Across the Spider-Verse and needs to be taken down. Finally, we expect that Miguel O’Hara and Jessica Drew – two characters we met for the first time in Across – will continue to make major contributions to the third and final chapter of the saga, so let’s pencil in Oscar Isaac and Issa Rae as “cast members assumed to return” when Beyond reaches theaters.
Here's What We Think 'Beyond' Might Mean In Beyond The Spider-Verse
We are hung up on the term Beyond. What does it mean to go beyond the Spider-Verse? In my mind, it means moving past the concept of animation, which is significant to the success of the first two movies. The animation in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse completely pushes the envelope in terms of what’s possible in the animation medium. It’s visually mindblowing, and often left my jaw hanging open in terms of what was accomplished. Particularly when it came to Gwen Stacy’s world, composed of spectacular watercolors that changed color to match the emotions of the scene.
But there were moments in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse when the action stepped into live-action, specifically when it entered the universe of Venom, and interacted with Mrs. Chen (Peggy Lu), the shopkeeper who always pesters Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy). Later, during the conversation of canon, and moments in the life of Spider-Man that have to occur, we get glimpses of both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, further blending live-action into the Spider-Verse movies. Does this mean that Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse will fully embrace live-action, possibly in a combination that mirrors Who Framed Roger Rabbit? If that’s the case, I think that will lead to the inclusion of live-action Tom Holland playing his version of Peter Parker, and maybe even the official casting of Miles Morales in live-action… a part that Shameik Moore very much would like to play.
Who Will Direct Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse?
When Sony Pictures Animation greenlit the sequel Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the studio made one major change. The three co-directors of Into the Spider-Verse were replaced, though they stayed on as executive producers. That change led to Kemp Powers (Pixar’s Soul), Justin K. Thompson (Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs), and Joaquim Dos Santos (Avatar: The Last Airbender) taking over directorial reins for the sequel. And this trio will remain in place for Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.
This makes a ton of sense, because the creative team hard at work on Across the Spider-Verse had to be making strides on Beyond at the same time, and likely will be able to breathe a little easier now that the release date has been pushed back. Overall, though, keeping the core trio in the directors’ chairs also helps maintain continuity of voice and vision, which will be essential following the success of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
Who Is Going To Write Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse?
Along the same lines, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse will continue to be shepherded by co-creators Phil Lord and Chris Miller, in addition to screenwriter Dave Callaham. When Lord and Miller appeared on an episode of CinemaBlend’s official podcast, ReelBlend, they talked about some of the contributions Callaham made to Across the Spider-Verse that would continue through Beyond, telling us:
Obviously we work in both mediums and we don't really distinguish between the two of them in terms of what we put on the page. The other thing that's kind of interesting apart from that is that there is a known canon that's expressed in this movie of, like, every known spider. But presumably there is the unknown (laugh). And I think that's, I think that that's one of the intellectual ideas underpinning where we're headed.
How’s that for a tease? Now, the waiting game begins. After the massive success of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, it’s going to be really hard to press pause on our anticipation and wait for Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. But given the quality of the first two movies, we have a very strong feeling that our patience will be rewarded with this (hopefully still) 2024 movie.
