Teenage Phenom Animated Entire ‘Across the Spider-Verse’ World

in Marvel, Movies

Spider-Punk from Across the Spider-Verse in LEGO form

Credit: LegoMe_TheOG

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) is already a massive hit, taking audiences on an emotional journey while simultaneously showcasing multiple Spider-People from different Spider-Worlds. And one of those worlds was solely created by a teenage boy.

Miguel O'Hara fighting The Vulture in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Credit: Sony Entertainment

The sequel to Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), Across the Spider-Verse, has swiftly become one of the most critically acclaimed and visually stunning films of 2023.

While it features incredible performances from Shameik Moore as Miles Morales, Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen Stacy, Oscar Isaac as Miguel O’Hara AKA Spider-Man 99, Jake Johnson as Peter B. Parker, Issa Rae as Jessica Drew AKA Spider-Woman, and Daniel Kaluuya as Spider-Punk, the real highlight is the incredible artwork showcased in the different Spider-Verses.

The audience follows Miles Morales as he chases The Spot through multiple universes, including a real-life world, Spider-Gwen’s gorgeous watercolor universe, and even a LEGO world. And even though they all stand out in their own unique way, the LEGO one is particularly impressive since it was solely created by a 14-year-old kid.

14-Year-Old Preston Mutanga Animated The LEGO Spider-Verse

Spider-People flying through Spider-Thereapist's office in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Credit: LegoMe_TheOG

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During a Q&A screening for Collider, an audience member asked co-director Joaquim Dos Santos how they found the time to animate the LEGO sequence in the film. While many would have thought Phil Lord and Chris Miller simply would have reached out to their LEGO Movie (2014) team, they went in a completely different direction: they hired 14-year-old YouTuber Preston Mutanga.

Dos Santos explained, “The funny thing about the LEGO scene, that was a kid that recreated one of the teasers on social media, so he was hired. That was a 14-year-old’s work. It was him and his dad that helped out, but it was a really neat thing. Can you imagine getting that call? I think they thought it was a prank, ‘What are you talking about?'”

Related: ‘Across the Spider-Verse’ Can Do the Unthinkable and Win Best Picture

While some animations took years to finish, Mutanga completed the LEGO world in only a few months, which is wildly impressive no matter the animator’s age.

Phil Lord and Chris Miller discovered the young talent through his viral LEGO recreations of the Across the Spider-Verse trailers. Known as LegoMe_TheOG on YouTube and Twitter, Preston Mutanga’s videos have already garnered millions of views despite the channel only being about two years old.

Online, the reception has been overwhelmingly positive, and the overall fan sentiment is best summed up by Phil Lord: “The future of animation has arrived.”

What’s your favorite world in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!

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