“Across-the Spider-Verse” sees the return of Shameik Moore as Miles Morales, Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen Stacy, Jake Johnson as Peter B. Park, Oscar Isaac as Miguel O’Hara, Brian Tyree Henry as Jefferson Davis, and Luna Lauren Vélez as Rio Morales. Issa Rae, Daniel Kaluuya, Karan Soni, Jason Schwartzman, Jorma Taccone, and Shea Whigham also star in the film.
It was at CinemaCon in 2022 that we got our very first look at “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” before the trailer was released, and it seems Sony Pictures Animation outdid themselves this year by showing 14 minutes of footage from the upcoming sequel.
The clips unveiled showed a movie that’s as stylish, heartfelt, and creative as audiences would expect from the sequel to Miles Morales’ much-loved 2018 debut. The cast of the film took the stage ahead of time to preface the sneak peek, with Miles’ voice actor Shameik Moore emphasizing what this franchise is really all about, “It’s how you wear the mask that really makes you a hero.”
Moore was accompanied by fellow cast member Hailee Steinfeld, who noted that Gwen Stacy will be on “her own journey as well” in the new movie. Also in attendance was Issa Rae, who plays Spider-Woman Jessica Drew. As Rae puts it, Jessica is “not living a double life; this isn’t dress-up for her.” The preview footage didn’t focus on Jessica, but on young lovebirds Miles and Gwen as the pair break free from Miles’ two-month-long grounding to go on what pretty much amounts to a Spidey-date.
The clip starts with Miles grounded in his bedroom, listening to music (Metro Boomin and Daniel Pemberton did the music for the sequence), when items around him begin to spontaneously start floating. It turns out the anti-gravity moment is caused by a portal that opens above him, and Gwen drops out of it. While Miles is clearly embarrassed his crush is seeing his childhood bedroom, including some drawings he made of her, Gwen gives him a hug and tells him she missed him.
