With all the talk of Sony’s live-action Spider-Man spinoff franchise, let’s not forget that the studio has an animated feature coming out in the near future, too. Titled Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, it will act as the cinematic debut of Miles Morales, Peter’s successor as Spider-Man in the comics, as played by Dope actor Shameik Moore. Joining him will be Liev Schreiber and Mahershala Ali and earlier today, Sony finally lifted the lid on the project, giving us the first trailer for the film.
Seen above (with the international version below), this is a wild and unexpected first look at Into the Spider-Verse. For one, the visuals are absolutely gorgeous, with a cel animation style that works perfectly. Again, it’s not at all what we were expecting, but we definitely dig it. There’s also the interesting tease that there are multiple versions of Spider-Man in this universe which, of course, opens up tons of storytelling possibilities.
It’s a fairly short preview and unfortunately doesn’t give us much more than what we just mentioned, but here’s the official plot synopsis:
Enter a universe where more than one wears the mask. Watch the Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse trailer now, in cinemas December 2018.
Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the creative minds behind “The Lego Movie” and “21 Jump Street,” bring their unique talents to a fresh vision of a different Spider-Man Universe, with a groundbreaking visual style that’s the first of its kind. “Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse” introduces Brooklyn teen Miles Morales, and the limitless possibilities of the Spider-Verse, where more than one can wear the mask.
Now, as exciting as this all is, some fans have been saying that Morales should’ve been the one to join the MCU, rather than just having him in this animated universe, and while there is validity to that statement, we feel that the most iconic version of any character should be the one to earn such privileges.
Think about it: Warner Bros. was pretty keen to team up Batman and Superman shortly after The Dark Knight Trilogy had concluded. Could you have imagined if their first live action union on the big screen had seen John Blake under the cowl though, as opposed to Bruce Wayne? Similarly, if any wallcrawler should be the first to be an onscreen Avenger, it has to be Peter.
Thankfully, though, Miles will still be getting a chance in the spotlight when Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse swings into theaters on December 14th, 2018. It’s directed by Rise of the Guardians‘ Peter Ramsey and Puss in Boots’ Bob Persichetti, with a script from Phil Lord and Chris Miller which is based on a story by them and Gravity Falls creator Alex Hirsch. Given the number of animation experts and talent on board, we imagine that the project will have no trouble finding success when it lands next year.