Credit: Sony Pictures and Marvel EntertainmentIt’s been five years since the Academy Award-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) hit theaters, and fans have wanted to see more of Miles Morales. Sony plans to deliver when Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is released in June this year, but now the word is out that a short animation film starring Miles Morales will also be debuting that month.
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“The Spider Within” will be the latest short from Sony Pictures Animation and Sony Pictures Imageworks. The short will be released exclusively for the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June. Variety shared the short film’s premise, which will focus on Miles being a superhero while balancing his responsibilities as a teenager, student, and friend.
This is the typical struggle audiences have seen in past Spider-Man stories since he is one of the younger superheroes on the Marvel roster. This time around, Miles’s overwhelming responsibilities will cause him to have an anxiety attack, leading to him battling the manifestations of his anxiety. With a premise like that, the story may also be relatable to viewers dealing with stress and anxiety.
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While most people don’t see anxiety as a real threat to a superhero, it is something ordinary people always face. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, anxiety affects 6.8 million adults in the United States.
Fans can recall Tony Stark also suffered from panic attacks in Shane Black’s Iron Man 3 (2013), which isn’t what you’d expect from a hero who just defeated an army of aliens in New York. However, that battle caused Tony trauma, which he had to deal with in the third installment of the Iron Man series. Fans can also recall being let down by that aspect of the storyline.
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It’s important to remember that the best heroes bleed. They do not win every time; they do fail. But what makes them a hero is getting up and facing their enemies. And sometimes, their enemies can be their mental health issues.
It could be inspiring to see Miles take on his anxiety in the upcoming “The Spider Within” short. There is no word on when fans outside of this year’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival will be able to see it, but here’s hoping it will be soon. Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse will be released in theaters on June 2, 2023.
Do you like when superheroes face their personal demons? Let Inside The Magic know in the comments.