It’s been three long years since the stunning and delightful (and Oscar-winning) Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse swung into theaters in December 2018, a date that sounds almost fake. (Was there a time before 2020? Are we sure?) The gorgeously animated feature introduced not just one but many new spider-folks, from Shameik Moore’s Miles to Hailee Steinfeld’s Spider-Gwen to Nicolas Cage’s Spider-Man Noir (and let’s never forget Kathryn Hahn’s excellent Doc Ock).
We finally, finally have a look at the spider-sequel—and what a look it is. There are two important details here: One is that Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is just “Part One” of the story. And the other is that a seemingly throwaway joke from the Into the Spider-Verse post-credits scene was nothing of the sort.
The trailer picks up right where we left off, with Miles in his bedroom, hearing Gwen Stacy’s voice. When she appears, it’s to lure him out, despite the fact that he’s grounded. (“Is Spider-Man grounded?” is a very fair question.) The next thing we know, Miles is swinging through a surreal city—until he’s slammed into by another person in a spider-suit.
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This is Spider-Man 2099, played by Oscar Isaac in that post-credits scene (the one that made excellent use of the “Spider-Man pointing at Spider-Man” meme). Why he’s chasing Miles across the multiverse remains to be seen. The movie’s description says Miles’ next spider-jaunt is “an epic adventure that will transport Brooklyn’s full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man across the Multiverse to join forces with Gwen Stacy and a new team of Spider-People to face off with a villain more powerful than anything they have ever encountered.”
The creative team is a little different from the first film, which was written by Phil Lord and Rodney Rothman and directed by Rothman, Bob Persichetti, and Peter Ramsey. For the sequel, the writers are Lord, returning producer Christopher Miller, and David Callaham (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), with Kemp Powers (a writer on Star Trek: Discovery), Joaquim Dos Santos (Avatar: The Last Airbender), and Justin K. Thompson (production designer on the first movie) directing.
Getting back into the Spider-Verse is gonna be so good. We just have a while to wait: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One) will be in theaters October 7, 2022.
