I’m sure all of you know who Spider-Man is, but what if I told you there’s more to this world than just Peter Parker? Sony Pictures Animation has unleashed the new trailer for their most ambitious project yet, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. This is a movie where the possibilities are limitless, not just for the superhero genre, but for the animated medium as a whole.
In this brand-new interpretation of the heroic web-swinger, the new kid wearing the suit is Brooklyn teen Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore of The Get Down). Under the teachings of his new mentor Peter Parker (Jake Johnson of Smurfs: The Lost Village), Miles will learn that multiple realities hold their own spider-themed hero.
In addition to Moore and Johnson, the voice cast will consist of Hailee Steinfeld (When Marnie Was There) as Gwen Stacy/Spider-Gwen, Liev Schreiber (Isle of Dogs) as Kingpin, and Brian Tyree Henry (Atlanta) as Miles’ father. We even have Miss Frizzle herself Lily Tomlin giving her voice to Aunt May.
This unique vision comes from the minds of an exceptionally talented crew, including producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (The Lego Movie), and directors Bob Persichetti (head of story on Puss in Boots), Peter Ramsey (director of Rise of the Guardians), and Rodney Rothman (writer of Lord and Miller’s 22 Jump Street). This is top of the expertly-crafted visuals provided by Sony Pictures Imageworks.
Speaking of which, this is truly a visual beauty and is unlike anything we’ve seen before. This takes full advantage of the animated medium, literally utilizing it as an art form. It’s essentially an animated comic, complete with distressed halftones, striking lighting, unconventional cinematography, and an emphasis on vibrant neon colours. Spider-Verse is proof that mainstream CG animated movies don’t need to continuously imitate the semi-realistic Pixar-like style that’s been long overdone, and instead be its own unique identity.
In terms of tone, that’s another aspect that keeps this movie apart from its competition. Any other mainstream animated movie would advertise lots of goofy comedy to attract every possible demographic, yet this seems to avoid that trope. Yes, this trailer has some comedy, but the main focus of this is being a straightforward and serious action movie build specifically for animation from the ground up. Sony appears to have unlocked so much potential in the medium with this movie, that I hope other animation studios follow suit too.
For those intrigued to check out Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Columbia Pictures will release the movie theatrically on December 14, 2018.
