Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation in association with Marvel Entertainment, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing.

It is the sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) and the second film in the Spider-Verse franchise, which is set in a shared multiverse of alternate universes called the “Spider-Verse”.

The film is directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson and written by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, who both also produce, and David Callaham.

Shameik Moore voices Miles, starring alongside Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Vélez, Jake Johnson, Jason Schwartzman, Issa Rae, Karan Soni, Shea Whigham, Greta Lee, Daniel Kaluuya, Mahershala Ali and Oscar Isaac.

In the film, Miles goes on an adventure with Gwen Stacy / Spider-Woman across the Multiverse, where he meets a team of Spider-People led by Miguel O’Hara / Spider-Man 2099 known as the Spider-Society, but comes into conflict with them over handling a new threat in the form of the Spot.

Sony began developing a sequel to Into the Spider-Verse prior to its 2018 release, with the writing and directing team attached. It was set to focus on the relationship between Moore’s Miles and Steinfeld’s Gwen.

The sequel was officially announced in November 2019 and animation work began in June 2020, with a different visual style for each of the six universes visited by the characters.

It was the first film from Sony Pictures Animation to be released in theaters worldwide since The Angry Birds Movie 2 in August 2019.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse premiered at the Regency Village Theatre in Los Angeles, California on May 30, 2023, and was theatrically released in the United States on June 2, having been delayed from its original April 2022 theatrical release date due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Like its predecessor, the film was a critical and commercial success.

It set several box office records, grossing over $690 million at the worldwide box office, surpassing its predecessor and becoming the third-highest-grossing film of the year domestically in the United States and the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2023.

The American Film Institute named Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse one of the top-ten films of 2023.

Among its numerous accolades, it won Best Animated Feature at the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, Annie Awards and Producers Guild of America Awards and received nominations for the same category at the Golden Globe Awards, BAFTA Awards, and Academy Awards.

The third and final installment in the trilogy, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, and a spin-off film, Spider-Woman, are both in development.

One night, Gwen encounters a version of the Vulture from an Italian Renaissance–themed alternate universe. Miguel O’Hara and Jess Drew arrive using portal-generating watches and help Gwen neutralize the Vulture.

George corners Gwen, who then reveals her identity to him; distraught, he attempts to arrest her. Miguel reluctantly grants Gwen membership into the Spider-Society, allowing her to escape with him and Jess.

In Brooklyn on Earth-1610, sixteen months after Kingpin’s defeat and the destruction of the Alchemax collider, Miles Morales encounters the Spot, an Alchemax scientist-turned-criminal whose body was infused with portals during the explosion.

The Spot blames Miles for causing his mutation and reveals that, while testing the collider, he had transported a spider from another dimension, Earth-42, which then bit Miles and turned him into Spider-Man.

The Spot then accidentally transports himself into a void, where he learns to travel to other universes, find Alchemax colliders and empower himself further.

Gwen travels to Earth-1610 and reconnects with Miles while tracking the Spot, having traveled to Earth-50101, one of the universes with an active Alchemax collider.

Miles secretly follows her through the portal to Mumbattan, and they team up with that world’s local Spider-Man Pavitr Prabhakar, and later Hobie Brown, against the Spot, who absorbs the power of that world’s collider.

The Spot and Miles share a vision of the Spot’s future attacks, which include the deaths of Police Inspector Singh, the father of Pavitr’s girlfriend Gayatri, and Miles’ father Jeff.

The Spot departs, and the collider collapses; Miles saves Singh from the ensuing destruction, but Earth-50101 begins to fall apart from its disrupted “canon event” before members of the Society arrive to contain the damage.

Miles, Gwen, and Hobie are sent to the Society’s headquarters on Nueva York in Earth-928, where hundreds of Spider-People gather and reside in a massive complex. Miles, along with Gwen and Hobie, meets with Miguel and reunites with Peter B.

Parker, who is accompanied by his infant daughter Mayday.

Miguel explains to Miles that each of the Spider-People’s stories throughout the multiverse contains “canon events”, such as the deaths of a police captain close to Spider-Man, and that straying from these events threatens reality and may cause that universe to collapse, which in turn could collapse the entire multiverse as a consequence.

Miguel reveals that he witnessed the collapse of another universe firsthand when attempting to replace a deceased version of himself from that universe.

Miles realizes that the Spot murdering Jeff, who is set to be promoted to police captain in two days, is a canon event. Miguel imprisons Miles to prevent him from saving Jeff, but Hobie helps Miles break loose before quitting the Society.

As Miles flees through the complex, Miguel orders the Society to capture him.

Miguel corners Miles and tells him he was never supposed to be Spider-Man; Earth-42’s spider traveling dimensions inadvertently caused the death of Earth-1610’s Peter Parker, the Spot’s creation, and the absence of Spider-Man on Earth-42.

Miles overpowers Miguel and with the help of Margo Kess, flees to what he believes is his home dimension. Considering Gwen a liability, a furious Miguel ejects her from the Society and forcibly sends her back to Earth-65.

Once there, Gwen reunites with George, who has resigned from his job as police captain. The two reconcile, and George gives Gwen a portal watch left behind by Hobie.

As the Society begins their search for Miles in Earth-1610, Gwen and Miles realizes that Miles has arrived on Earth-42 rather than his own dimension.

In this world, his uncle Aaron Davis is alive while his father is dead, and New York City is riddled with unchecked crime.

Miles is knocked unconscious and finds himself restrained by Aaron and Earth-42’s version of the Prowler, who is revealed to be Miles. Meanwhile, Gwen speaks with Miles’ parents, promising to find him and bring him home.

As the Spot begins his multiversal attack on Earth-1610’s New York, Miles prepares to escape his restraints, and Gwen assembles a team to find Miles, consisting of Peter B., Mayday, Pavitr, Hobie, Margo, Spider-Man Noir, Peni Parker, and Spider-Ham.