Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse 2 Has A New Creative Team Behind It
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was a smashing critical and financial success for Sony in 2018. The animated superhero film grossed over $375 million at the worldwide box office — easily surpassing its $90 million budget — and received overwhelmingly positive reviews from both critics and general viewers alike. Into the Spider-Verse's success continued several months after its initial release, as well. It won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film at the 2019 Academy Awards, making it the first non-Disney/Pixar film to win the award since 2011's Rango.
The film was notable for its unique depiction of the Spider-Verse from the Marvel comics, as well as for its use of the Miles Morales version of Spider-Man in the lead role. It was also praised for its unique combination of traditional CG animation and comic book-style visuals. To Sony's credit, it didn't take long for the studio to catch on to the high quality and originality of the film. Sony began developing a sequel prior to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse's theatrical release, and work on a follow-up has continued in earnest in the years since.
Now, after several months of little-to-no updates about the project, an exciting Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2 development has finally been announced.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2 has found its directors
Variety reports that Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2 — which is set to hit theaters on Oct. 7th, 2022 — will be directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson. The film marks the feature film directing debut for both Dos Santos and Thompson, with Dos Santos previously having directed episodes of shows like The Legend of Korra and Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Thompson having previously worked on films like Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, and Smurfs: The Lost Village. Thompson was also the production designer on the first Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse film.
Powers, meanwhile, is the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of the 2020 drama One Night in Miami and the co-writer and co-director of Pixar's Soul, which is also up for the Best Animated Feature award at this year's Academy Awards. It is said that Powers, Dos Santos, and Thompson have been working together on the Spider-Verse sequel from the very beginning, but their partnership has just now been made public. The original film was directed by Rodney Rothman, Bob Persichetti, and Peter Ramsey, and Ramsey is said to be returning to executive produce the sequel.
All in all, the announcement is just another step towards Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2 being completed. Based on their previous work, it seems like Powers, Dos Santos, and Thompson all have what it takes to deliver the Spider-Verse sequel that comic book fans everywhere are anxiously waiting for.