Let me make something abundantly clear… Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse isn’t just one of the best animated movies of this year, it’s one of the best animated movies of all time. Heck, it’s just a great movie plain and simple — animated or otherwise, and you can take that right to the bank. (Or wherever else you decide to take my unwarranted opinions. I don’t really care.)
After the film’s ending, fans keep clambering for any sort of info regarding the third installment in this smash franchise. Most notably? When it’s supposed to hit theaters. Currently slated for a March 29, 2024 release, these days it can be hard to expect any big blockbuster to come out on time.
It seems that the Spider-Verse franchise isn’t immune to that trend, and in a recent interview with Comicbook.com, Peter B. Parker actor Jake Johnson remained pretty darn vague on that deadline.
“Here’s what I can promise, and I said it about the second one when we were in the middle of it: Phil Lord, Chris Miller, everybody, the producers on this, the directors they’re going to bring in, what they did on the first one is all the directors became executive producers. So they just keep adding to it.”
With the Lord and Miller universe continuing to grow, it tracks that each subsequent film in their all-star storytelling web would take longer and longer to make. Animated movies aren’t necessarily a walk in the park these days — they take tons of time to bring to life. Especially in a world with shrinking deadlines, shaky job markets, and massive creative fatigue for the filmmakers involved.
Face the facts, people: movies are suffering. It seems every time I turn around, there’s another film rushed out the door before it’s time, and what we end up getting is some half-baked atrocity that no one wanted to go see in the first place. Yuck.
That’s why it makes sense that a movie like Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse won’t release until it’s ready. If that’s March of 2024, then it’s March of 2024. If it’s not… Jake Johnson knows why. Blame him. Just kidding, Jake Johnson seems like a cool dude. Leave him out of this, you monsters.
“What I can promise is they are not going to stop until it’s excellent, and if that means it takes a little bit longer, if that means it’s even bigger, if that means it’s longer. They don’t play by anybody’s rules. They work really hard. As actors in it, we’re always shocked that we get called in to record on this last one. I think it was a month before it screened, where we could not believe we were still recording. So they’re not going to quit until it’s great, and I have nothing but faith in them. But in terms of giving anything away, (on story) can’t do it.”
Look, I get it, we all love Spider-Verse. It’s some of the best superhero storytelling anyone has ever seen, the MCU be damned. I can’t wait, either — but might have to, and that’s okay.
Patience is a virtue, friends. Which is why seeing Miles and the gang back at it in this mysterious third installment will be more than worth it. Here’s to waiting.