20 facts you might not know about 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse'

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was a big swing as an animated Spider-Man film focused on Miles Morales instead of Peter Parker. Sony was confident, though. Owing to the “incredible buzz” around the film, Across the Spider-Verse was given the go-ahead and put into development before the first film even hit theaters.

The first movie was written by Phil Lord and Rodney Rothman, with Rothman directing alongside Bob Persichetti and Peter Ramsey. Only Lord returned for Across the Spider-Verse. He and his usual creative partner, Christopher Miller, co-wrote the script with David Callaham, with Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson directing together. Animation takes a lot of work.

Callaham did an uncredited polish of the script for Ant-Man, but later, he got to co-write another movie in the MCU, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. In between those films, he dipped into the world of DC, as Callaham also co-wrote Wonder Woman 1984.

Originally, as Lord, Miller, and Callaham were putting the script together, there was a second primary antagonist. The identity is unknown, but they were eventually written out of the screenplay, with The Spot serving as the sole top-lining antagonist.

Not only were there once multiple antagonists in Across the Spider-Verse, but Jonathan Ohnn was originally not a villain in the story at all. Producer Avi Arad suggested The Spot for the role, but Lord and Miller dismissed him as too goofy and too obscure. Then, they started to think about the potential the character’s abilities had for the stories and ran with it.

Across the Spider-Verse is packed to the brim with Spideys — some of them from the comics, some of them created for the movie. There was one Spider-Man that Lord and Miller wanted, but that wasn't included. Takuya Yamashiro, the "Japanese Spider-Man" from a 1978 Japanese TV show, was even designed for the film but ultimately wasn't included.

Tom Holland said that he was approached to make a cameo in Across the Spider-Verse while he was filming No Way Home , and Zendaya and Jacob Batalon were reportedly interested as well. Though two live-action Peter Parkers, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, are in the film through archive footage, Holland didn’t end up in the movie.

Jorma Taccone voiced Green Goblin and “1967 Spider-Man” in the first Spider-Verse. In addition to reprising the role of Spider-Man in this movie, he added another character into the mix: The Renaissance-era Vulture.

Delilah, an assassin introduced in the comics in 1996, was going to play a bartender in an alternative universe in Across the Spider-Verse, but the scene was cut. However, later in 2023, the video game Spider-Man 2 was released, and Delilah was in that game.

The spider in the “Go Home Machine” from the Spidey headquarters is named Ynyr. If you have ever seen the cult classic sci-fi film Krull, that name may ring a bell. The Spider-Verse spider is designed after the Krull spider and is also named in its honor.

Preston Mutanga is a Canadian teenager who recreated the trailer for Into the Spider-Verse in Lego. The filmmakers saw it and were so impressed they offered Mutanga the chance to do a Lego sequence in Across the Spider-Verse. Yes, that scene was directed by a 14-year-old Canadian.

As Lord and Miller started cracking the story, they realized the story was too big for one movie. Thus, it was announced that the Into the Spider-Verse sequel would be split into Across the Spider-Verse (Part One) and Across the Spider-Verse (Part Two).

By April 2022, "Part One" was dropped from Across the Spider-Verse, with the second sequel being re-titled Beyond the Spider-Verse. However, Across the Spider-Verse is very much a part one. In fact, if there has been a primary criticism of Across the Spider-Verse, it is the abject lack of a conclusion, as the film essentially ends on a cliffhanger lacking in resolution.

Across the Spider-Verse takes place across six universes and features designs for roughly 240 characters. Yet, Lord and Miller told Sony the crew would remain the same size as with the first film. Not so much! Approximately 1,000 people worked on Across the Spider-Verse, reportedly a record for an animated movie. Notably, there were some reports of poor working conditions for animators on the film, though Sony denied them.

Kaluuya voices Spider-Punk, a real character from the comics, and, in our minds, the most interesting addition to the film’s universe. He said that he went to Spotify and searched for “Spider-Punk” hoping to find some user-generated playlists he could listen to for inspiration. Kaluuya said he found himself “vibing out” to the playlists, which helped him gauge the proper energy.

Across the Spider-Verse could not avoid COVID-19 complications. Originally, it had been set for release on April 8, 2022. That became October 7, but that also did not end up sticking. Eventually, Across the Spider-Verse would be released on June 2, 2023. Unlike the first film, it was not released in 3D. Also, due to issues with audio mixing on some versions sent out to theaters, Sony sent a version of the film with a new mix to all theaters.

Unsurprisingly, Across the Spider-Verse debuted atop the domestic box office. It took in $120.7 million domestically in its first weekend. The movie would then finish second in its second week and third in its third week, but then it got a second wind. Well, a down box office helped. Across the Spider-Verse made $19.3 domestically in its fourth weekend, but that was good enough to finish first.

On a budget of somewhere between $100 million and $150 million (reports differ, and COVID-impacted films saw their budgets become inflated by and large), the movie made $690.5 million worldwide. That was quite impressive and led to the film finishing sixth in the worldwide box office. Nobody will quibble with that, but Across the Spider-Verse was more popular in the United States. It made $381.3 million domestically, which was good enough to finish third, behind only Barbie and The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

As with the first film, Across the Spider-Verse is getting lauded by all sorts of critics groups. Now, it is mostly competing in the animated realm, including at the Critics’ Choice Awards and Golden Globes. However, the AFI named the movie one of its 10 best of the year in any genre and style.

Beyond the Spider-Verse is happening. We know this. Originally, it was scheduled to be released on March 29, 2024. Among the complaints levied against working conditions, though, was that there was no way the film would be done in time for that release date. Then, the SAG-AFTRA strike happened. Now, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire has taken that spot for Sony, and Beyond the Spider-Verse has no official release date. In 2023, a spinoff called Spider-Woman was announced, featuring Gwen Stacy and Jess Drew, among others.