Summary
Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Versehas been highly anticipated since the release and subsequent runaway success of its predecessor in the planned Spider-Man animated trilogy, but there hasn’t been much news on progress, and that doesn’t seem set to change anytime soon.
While Peter Parker’sSpider-Manstill headlines the mainstream MCU depiction of the character, fans got a heavy dose of the future with Miles Morales’ breakout moments in 2018’sSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.The amazing visuals and genuinely well-written story and characters would all carry over losslessly to 2021’sSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,which would end on a massive cliffhanger that had fans eager for the next (and final) installment of the plannedSpider-Versetrilogy. However, it became clear very quickly thatfans wouldn’t be going beyond the spider-verse anytime soonas the production on the third film appeared to be making no moves.
While fans at least know for certain thatBeyond the Spider-Verseisn’t going to be scrapped anytime soon, there hasn’t been much else by way of good news concerning the highly-anticipated project. Unfortunately, this state of affairs doesn’t seem like it’s going to switch up anytime soon. Speaking toDeciderabout the film’s current progress and whether or not the voice cast had started work on it yet,Across the Spider-Versestar Jharrel Jerome gave the sort of update that fans have become all too accustomed to hearing concerning the threequel. “No, I wish,” Jerome revealed. “We haven’t started up yet. A lot of things being figured out, but good things.” The star’s confidence in the project’s quality aside, the lack of movement behind the scenes is the latest in a series of similarly worrying updates. With 2024 now firmly in the rearview mirror,Beyond the Spider-Versehas now spent more time than it took to plan, develop and executeAcross the Spider-Versewith little to show for it.
Jerome’s approach of praising the film while admitting to the slow production process is pretty similar to co-starBrian Tyree Henry’s concerningBeyond the Spider-Verseupdategiven late last year. This, unfortunately, means that neither star was exaggerating when they described the state of affairs that the film is currently in. There’s no word on a potential start date for the voice capture either, and that only means an even more punishing release window for fans than previously anticipated. Even if the film decided on some sort of variable schedule for the upcoming film, Jerome’s role as the villainous Miles G. Morales means that he’d likely be a priority in scheduling some time on the mic. The lack of any sort of motion in that direction means that the film is really that far behind the point fans were hoping it would be by now. Granted, the animation is the bulk of the time requirement, not the voice acting. But with no updates on that half of the equation being any more forthcoming and post-production still requiring extensive work on both, it really doesn’t offer any comfort about the slow process.
While there seems to be no hope in sight for a release date anytime soon, things aren’t as bleak as they may seem at first blush. Fans should consider the idea thatthe long wait time forBeyond The Spider-verseis actually a good thing, as the large amount of time will ensure that the film’s animation, voice acting, and overall direction live up to the standard set by its predecessors without the need for back-breaking crunch time at the studio. Furthermore, the extra time and care could be instrumental in helping the Spider-verse films avoid some of the common pitfalls that plague trilogies when they approach the end.
The two currently releasedSpider-Man: Spider-Versefilms are available to stream on Netflix
