In 2018, with just a few months to go before the world would come to a standstill, Sony delivered a film that was equal parts avant-garde as it was nostalgic. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse brought something never seen or experienced before in motion picture but it simultaneously wrenched out the memories and feelings attached to the world of comics and wonder. The animated film formally introduced the multiverse, birthed an iconic Spider-Man meme, and potentially laid out the future of the Marvel universe. Now, 5 years later, the sequel, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is here and it is bigger and better than any of us imagined.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)
Across the Spider-Verse Topples Marvel and DC Records
According to a recent report published by Across the Spider-Verse’s IMDb page, the Sony animated film will have a plotline that traverses across six dimensions and features approximately 240 characters in its narrative. This defies any Marvel multiversal project that has come out in the recent past, including the impressive arcs of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and No Way Home combined.
Across the Spider-Verse brings back a multiversal fiesta
Earlier, the legendary writer-producer duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller – who went on to win an Academy Award for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, claimed that the sequel would be constructed on a similar scale. But suffice it to say, Across the Spider-Verse went above and beyond by employing over a thousand animators in their personnel to bring the animated feature alive on the big screen. This easily makes the Sony film a record-setter for having the largest crew of any animated movie ever made in Hollywood, surpassing even the renowned House of Mouse.
Sony & DC Catching Upto the Marvel Juggernaut Vehicle
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has progressed exponentially in the past decade and a half and to expect otherwise for the foreseeable future from the franchise would be foolish. Simultaneously, however, CBM juggernauts like Sony and DC, despite successfully existing in the commercial market for much longer than Marvel, have only now begun to grow as potential competitors to the latter studio.
Marvel and DC comics
It isn’t surprising though – the MCU was built upon a strong foundation and then laid out over a vast surface area comprised of well-structured plans. The universe has become nearly indestructible over the years. Sony, on the other hand, has been toying with its biggest IP: Spider-Man, and its various iterations while DC has delivered a handful of critical and commercial hits with Superman and Batman adaptations in a disorganized pattern, scattered throughout the years, and without an end.
Kevin Feige’s idea of bringing alive every one of its characters that lie within its vast canon of literature and using them under the umbrella of MCU to create this beautiful architectural panorama of film and television has finally gotten to DC and Sony. No wonder David Zaslav issued the order of finding DC’s very own “Kevin Feige” after he arrives at WBD and Sony, too, has employed an extensive crew to build its animated universe.
