A new Spider-Man variant has been confirmed for Sony’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and the actor crossing universes to portray him is none other than Deadpool‘s Karan Soni. The actor played the lovable, if slightly insane, taxi driver, Dopinder in Deadpool and Deadpool 2, but now he gets a chance to be the hero in the upcoming sequel to the critically lauded Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
Soni will be lending his voice to Pavitr Prabhakar, also known as Spider-Man India. This character was created in 2004 by Gotham Entertainment Group in India, it only ran for four issues and was released in the United States in 2005. It was a retelling of the famous Spider-Man origin story that we all know setting it instead in India.
Instead of Uncle Ben and Aunt May, he has Uncle Bhim and Aunt Maya with Mary Jane becoming Meera Jain. He does not get his powers from a spider bite, but instead from a mystical yogi who grants him the powers of a spider in order to take on demonic forces that threaten their world. His appearance in Across the Spider-Verse will be his first on-screen adaption.
Along with various new entries, most actors will be returning to their original roles with Shameik Moore as Spider-Man/Miles Morales, Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen Stacy/Spider-Gwen, and Jake Johnson as Spider-Man/Peter B. Parker. The first film was exceptionally well-received thanks to its groundbreaking visuals and compelling storytelling, so here is hoping that the sequel will be just as fantastic if not more so.